Meloidogyne arenaria (peanut root-knot nematode (PRKN)) is a major pest of peanut. Nematicide application is an important tool for the management of PRKN. Nematicides with minimal effects on free-living nematodes are desired. Fluopyram nematicide is recently introduced in peanut production and needs to be assessed. The objective of this research is to evaluate fluopyram and the established nematicides 1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D) and aldicarb for efficacy at managing PRKN and impacts on free-living nematodes. Nematicides were evaluated in field studies in 2017 and 2018 conducted in commercial peanut fields. All nematicides increased peanut yield in 2017 compared with untreated control, but did not affect soil PRKN abundances or root galling. In 2018, PRKN infestation was too low to accurately assess PRKN management by nematicides. Aldicarb and fluopyram did not affect any free-living nematode trophic group or individual genera. In contrast, 1,3-D decreased total fungivore and fungivore genera Filenchus and Aphelenchus soil abundances, but did not affect bacterivores, omnivore-predators, total herbivores, or any other nematode genera. In summary, 1,3-D, but not aldicarb or fluopyram, had non-target effects on free-living nematodes, particularly fungivores.

Meloidogyne spp. are among the most damaging plant-parasitic nematodes to golf course bermudagrass in the southern United States. Diagnostic samples processed by centrifugal flotation often recovered only low numbers of vermiform Meloidogyne spp. life stages (J2 and males) from soil, while roots were found to be heavily infested by sedentary life stages. Therefore, the University of Florida Nematode Assay Lab (NAL) evaluated mist extraction from turf plugs as a method for diagnosis of Meloidogyne spp. from golf course bermudagrass. Soil and turf plugs were obtained from 596 golf course bermudagrass small plots from multiple locations and cultivars over several years, and vermiform Meloidogyne spp. extracted from 100 cm 3 of soil by centrifugal flotation and by mist chamber extraction from four 3.8-cm-diam. turf plugs were compared. Additionally, both extraction methods were performed on 431 golf course bermudagrass diagnostic samples received by the NAL from Florida, 36 golf course bermudagrass diagnostic samples from Texas, and 34 golf course bentgrass/bluegrass samples from California. In the small plots, and the bermudagrass samples from Florida and Texas, mist extraction had higher detection and recovery rates of vermiform Meloidogyne spp. than did centrifugal flotation. However, centrifugal flotation had higher detection and recovery rates than mist extraction from bentgrass/bluegrass samples from California. Mist extraction from turf plugs is superior to centrifugal flotation from soil for diagnosis of Meloidogyne spp. on golf course bermudagrass, but not on golf course bentgrass and bluegrass.

A substantial knowledge gap exists on how compost source and rate of application affect nematode community-based soil food web structure, soil health, soil physiochemistry, and crop yield and quality in short- and full-season crops. We tested effects of plant (PC)- and animal (AC)-based compost at 1, 1.5 and 2× the standard nitrogen (N) rate on processing carrot ‘Cupar’ and fresh market ‘Sugarsnax 54’ (short-season crop) over 2-3 growing seasons. Low abundance of nematodes and domination of herbivores and bacterivores indicate that the field is biologically stressed. While outcomes of most measured parameters varied by compost source and/or rate, an increase in soil food web structure with time was most consistent. A combination of the variable outcomes and correlation patterns suggest that a multifactor analysis may best quantify compost-driven changes in soil ecosystems as opposed to looking for changes in a single parameter.

Soil nutrient management system characterized by reduced input of inorganic fertilizers integrated with organic amendments is one of the alternatives for reducing deleterious environmental impact of synthetic fertilizers, suppressing soil-borne pests and diseases, and improving soil health and crop yield. A hypothesis of the present study was that lower rates of urea mixed with higher rates of plant compost (PC) would improve nematode community structure, soil food web condition, soil biological, and physiochemical properties, and yield and quality of a processing carrot (Daucus carota) cultivar. Urea and PC were each applied at 135 kg nitrogen (N)/ha alone or at 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3 ratios annually during the 2012 to 2014 growing seasons. A non-amended check served as a control. Nematode community was analyzed from soil samples collected approximately 4-week intervals from planting to 133 days after planting each year. Soil respiration, as a measure of soil biological activity, and soil physiochemical properties were determined from soils collected at planting and at harvest in 2012 and 2013. Results showed that PC alone, and U1:PC1 resulted in soil food web structure significantly above 50 at harvest in 2014. Urea significantly decreased end-ofseason soil pH, but increased NO 3-N compared with the other treatments. While the herbivore population density was low, abundances of Tylenchus and Malenchus were negatively correlated with carrot fresh weight of marketable carrot. Overall, results suggest that integrating lower rates of urea and higher rates of PC are likely to increase soil biological activity, soil pH, and phosphorus content.

Percent soil organic matter (SOM), pH and crop yield are among the biophysicochemical process-driven soil health indicators (SHIs). However, identifying sustainable soil health conditions using these SHIs is limited due to the lack of Integrated Productivity Efficiency (IPE) models. We define IPE as a concept that identifies best-to-worst-case soil health outcomes by assessing the effect of agronomic practices on weighted abundance of functional guilds (WAFG) of beneficial soil organisms and SHIs simultaneously. Expressing WAFG of all beneficial nematodes (x-axis) and SHIs (y-axis) as a percent of untreated control and regression of x and y reveals four quadrants describing worst-to-best-case outcomes for soil health and sustainability. We tested the effects of composted cow manure (AC) and plant litter (PC) applied at 135 (1×), 203 (1.5×), and 270 (2×) kg N/ha on WAFG, SOM, pH, and yield in a sandy clay loam field of a processing carrot cultivar over three growing seasons. Untreated control and urea at 1× served as experimental controls. Data that varied by time and were difficult to make sense of were separated into sustainable, unsustainable, or requiring specific modification to be sustainable categories by the IPE model. Within the sustainable category, all AC treatments and 2× rate of PC treatments had the best integrated efficiency outcomes across the SHIs. The IPE model provides a platform where other biophysicochemical process-driven SHIs could be integrated.