No abstract

Field experiments were conducted in silty-clay loam in Corvallis, OR during the summers of 1995 and 1996 to study the effects of green manure cover crops (Sudan grass, rape, and barley), soil solarization, soil fumigation, and combinations of those treatments on population densities of soil pathogens Verticillium dahliae, Phytophthora cinnamomi, Pratylenchus penetrans, and Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Nylon mesh bags containing soil infested with V. dahliae and Phytophthora cinnamomiwere buried 5, 10, 20, and 30 cm deep. Soil solarization was performed over a 54- to 59-day period using a 0.6-mil clear polyethylene film. Maximum soil temperatures recorded at depths of 5, 10, 20, and 30 cm were 53, 48, 39, and 34°C in solarized soil, respectively; these temperatures were 8 to 16°C higher than in corresponding nonsolarized plots. Soil samples were collected before, during, and after solarization to quantify pathogen populations at those four depths. Pot or field studies were conducted subsequent to treatments to determine the effects of treatments on susceptible plants. Soil solarization, cover crops plus solarization, or fumigation with metam sodium resulted in a significant decrease (P< 0.05) in density of P. cinnamomi populations at all four depths and reduced (P< 0.05) V. dahliae at 5 and 10 cm. In greenhouse assays of solarized soils, disease severity was reduced (P< 0.05) for Verticillium spp. on eggplant and Phytophthora spp. on snapdragons. Cover crops alone were not effective in reducing P. cinnamomi and V. dahliae populations. Agrobacterium spp. population densities declined within solarized plots and incidence of crown gall on ‘Mazzard’ cherry rootstock planted in solarized plots was reduced significantly. Population densities of Pratylenchus penetranswere reduced in the upper 30-cm soil profile by solarization.Solarization for an 8-week period during the warmest months of summer could provide an additional management alternative for several important soilborne pathogens in western Oregon.

Field experiments were conducted on a silty clay loam in Corvallis, OR during the summers of 1995 and 1996 to study the effects of soil solarization, spring-planted green manure crops, fumigation with metham, and combinations of these treatments on annual bluegrass seed survival. Annual bluegrass seeds were incorporated into the soil as a bioassay species and soil samples extracted to a depth of 15 cm to determine effects on seed survival. Soil solarization was applied over a 53- or 59-d period using a 0.6-mil clear polyethylene film. Soil samples were collected from four depths after the solarization period in both solarized and nonsolarized plots and surviving seeds germinated in a greenhouse. Maximum soil temperatures recorded at 5-, 10-, and 20-cm depths were 52, 47, and 33 C in solarized soil, respectively. Solarization reduced annual bluegrass seed survival from 89 to 100% in the upper 5 cm of soil, but did not reduce survival below 5 cm. Solarization may have enhanced seed survival below 5 cm. Cover crops of barley, rapeseed, and sudangrass generally increased survival of annual bluegrass seeds buried 2.5 to 15 cm deep in the soil. Green manure cover crops plus solarization did not improve the efficacy of solarization alone and in some cases diminished the effectiveness of solarization. Solarization significantly improved the efficacy of one-quarter rates of metham (230 L/ha) in the top 5 cm of soil, reducing overall annual bluegrass seed survival in the soil by 40% compared with metham alone (230 L/ha) but only 30% compared with solarization alone. The conventional rate of metham (930 L/ha) was the most effective and consistent treatment across all depths.

No abstract

Relationships between environmental factors and release of ascospores of Anisogramma anomala, the causal agent of eastern filbert blight, were examined in four European hazelnut (Corylus avellana) orchards during a 2-year period. In each orchard, Burkhard volumetric spore traps and automated weather-monitoring equipment were deployed for 12-week periods beginning at budbreak, when hazelnut becomes susceptible to infection. Ascospores of A. anomala were released when stromata on the surface of hazelnut branches were wet from rain but not from dew. Release of ascospores ceased after branch surfaces dried. The duration of free moisture on branch surfaces regulated the initiation and rate of ascospore release, but no significant effects of temperature, relative humidity, wind, or light on ascospore release were apparent. Most (>90%) ascospores were captured during precipitation events that exceeded 20 h in duration, which represented about 10% of the total precipitation events each season. Quantitative relationships between the hourly capture of A. anomala ascospores and hours since the beginning of a precipitation event were developed. With the onset of precipitation, the hourly rate of ascospore capture increased until the fifth hour of rain, remained relatively constant between the fifth and twelfth hours, and then declined gradually. During the 12-week spore-trapping periods, the likelihood and rates of ascospore release associated with precipitation were highest at budbreak and then declined through April and May until early June, when the reserve of ascospores in the perithecia was depleted. Large numbers of ascospores were captured in the volumetric spore traps, indicating that ascospores may be commonly dispersed long distances on air currents as well as locally by splash dispersal within the canopy, as reported previously. The results indicate that monitoring seasonal precipitation patterns may be useful for estimating the quantity and temporal distribution of airborne inoculum during the period that the host is susceptible to infection.

Maturation and release of ascospores of Anisogramma anomala were monitored over a 6-year period (1988 to 1995) in European hazelnut orchards located in western Oregon. Perithecia of A. anomala were dissected from stromata collected monthly from September to May to determine spore maturation. Spore maturation began in late summer; by January, >90% of the spores were morphologically mature. Similarly, both the number of mature ascospores per perithecium and the proportion of ascospores that germinated increased through autumn. After January, the number of spores per perithecium declined until May, when few viable spores remained. Each of the 6 years, rain catch-type spore traps were placed under cankers in diseased trees from 15 September to 30 June. Based on spore collection periods of 1 to 4 weeks, three patterns for the seasonal release of A. anomala ascospores were observed: in the 1988-1989 season, >80% of the seasonal ascospore release occurred between September and January; in the 1989-1990 season, 32 to 42% of the seasonal ascospore release occurred after mid-April; and in the other 4 years, monthly releases of ascospores were relatively uniform over the 9-month seasonal period. Timing and amount of precipitation were the most important variables accounting for the differences among the yearly patterns of ascospore release. Over all years and sites, the cumulative proportion of total ascospores collected in each orchard was highly correlated (R(2) = 0.90) with cumulative precipitation. This relationship was confirmed in mist chamber experiments. A regression model was developed relating cumulative ascospore release to cumulative hours of precipitation. The model provides an estimate of the proportion of ascospores remaining to be released after budbreak, which coincides with the period of highest susceptibility to infection.

No abstract

Root rot caused by Phytophthora fragariae var. fragariae and P. fragariae var. rubi are major concerns in strawberry and raspberry production in the Pacific Northwest. Of lesser importance is black root rot of strawberry, caused by a complex of fungi and nematodes. Soil solarization was evaluated in 1997 in a strawberry planting and in 1998 in a raspberry planting for: (i) enhancing plant health and growth, and (ii) reducing population densities of root-destroying pathogens. Plots were solarized from mid-July to mid-September. Maximum and mean soil temperatures in solarized plots recorded at 10 cm depth were 48 and 33°C in the strawberry plots and 46 and 29°C in the raspberry plots. These temperatures were 7 to 17°C higher than temperatures recorded in nonsolarized plots. Soil collected after solarization was assayed by growing bait plants, cv. Totem strawberry or cv. Qualicum raspberry, at 15°C for 6 weeks in saturated soil to promote infections. Root health and plant growth were evaluated after 6 weeks. Solarization significantly reduced (P < 0.05) root necrosis and increased root weight of bait plants compared to plants grown in soil from nonsolarized plots. Infection of strawberry roots by P. fragariae, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Cylindrocarpon spp. was reduced (P < 0.05) by solarization in sampled soil. Disease was reduced in cv. Hood strawberries and Qualicum and Skeena red raspberries planted in solarized field plots. In the second growing season, total number and number of healthy primocanes of Qualicum plants were greater (P < 0.05) in solarized plots compared to nonsolarized plots. Solarization combined with applications of mefenoxam was no more effective in controlling diseases than solarization alone, but better than mefenoxam alone. Skeena plants responded similarly, but the differences were not significant. Red raspberry plants growing in solarized soil yielded more fruit than plants growing in nonsolarized soil in the third year after solarization. Solarization has potential as a component in an integrated pest management program of root diseases in raspberry and strawberry production, particularly within the first 2 years following planting.