Experiments were conducted in field plots to evaluate the effects of broccoli residue on population dynamics of Verticillium dahliae in soil and on Verticillium wilt development on cauliflower under furrow and subsurface-drip irrigation and three irrigation regimes in 1994 and 1995. Treatments were a factorial combination of three main plots (broccoli crop grown, harvested, and residue incorporated in V.dahliae-infested plots; no broccoli crop or residue in infested plots; and fumigated control plots), two subplots (furrow and subsurface-drip irrigation), and three sub-subplots (deficit, moderate, and excessive irrigation regimes) arranged in a split-split-plot design with three replications. Soil samples collected at various times were assayed for V. dahliae propagules using the modified Anderson sampler technique. Incidence and severity of Verticillium wilt on cauliflower were assessed at 7- to 10-day intervals beginning a month after cauliflower transplanting and continuing until harvest. Number of propagules in all broccoli plots declined significantly (P < 0.05) after residue incorporation and continued to decline throughout the cauliflower season. The overall reduction in the number of propagules after two broccoli crops was approximately 94%, in contrast to the fivefold increase in the number of propagules in infested main plots without broccoli after two cauliflower crops. Disease incidence and severity were both reduced approximately 50% (P < 0.05) in broccoli treatments compared with no broccoli treatments. Differences between furrow and subsurface-drip irrigation were not significant, but incidence and severity were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in the deficit irrigation regime compared with the other two regimes. Abundance of microsclerotia of V. dahliae on cauliflower roots about 8 weeks after cauliflower harvest was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in treatments with broccoli compared with treatments without broccoli. Rotating broccoli with cauliflower and incorporating broccoli residues into the soils is a novel means of managing Verticillium wilt on cauliflower and perhaps on other susceptible crops. This practice would be successful regardless of the irrigation methods or regimes followed on the susceptible crops.

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Subsurface drip and furrow irrigation were compared on lettuce (Lactuca sativa) cvs. Salinas and Misty Day for yield and incidence and severity of three important diseases of lettuce in the Salinas Valley, CA. Experiments were conducted between 1993 and 1995 during the spring and fall seasons. The diseases examined included lettuce drop (Sclerotinia minor), downy mildew (Bremia lactucae), and corky root (Rhizomonas suberifaciens). Replicated plots of subsurface drip and furrow irrigation were arranged in a randomized complete-block design. All plants were inoculated with S. minor at the initiation of the experiment during the 1993 spring season. Plots were not inoculated for downy mildew and corky root during any season nor were the plots reinoculated with S. minor. During each season, all plots were sprinkler irrigated until thinning, and subsequently, the irrigation treatments were begun. The furrow plots were irrigated once per week, and the drip plots received water twice per week. The distribution of soil moisture at two soil depths (0 to 5 and 6 to 15 cm) at 5, 10, and 15 cm distance on either side of the bed center in two diagonal directions was significantly lower in drip-irrigated compared with furrow-irrigated plots. Plots were evaluated for lettuce drop incidence and downy mildew incidence and severity at weekly intervals until harvest. Corky root severity and yield components were determined at maturity. Lettuce drop incidence and corky root severity were significantly lower and yields were higher in plots under subsurface drip irrigation compared with furrow irrigation, regardless of the cultivar, except during the 1994 fall season. Incidence and severity of downy mildew were not significantly different between the two irrigation methods throughout the study. The differential microclimates created by the two irrigation treatments did not affect downy mildew infection, presumably because the mesoclimate is usually favorable in the Salinas Valley. Subsurface drip irrigation is a viable, long-term strategy for soilborne disease management in lettuce in the Salinas Valley.

S U M M A R YWinter non-leguminous cover crops are included in crop rotations to decrease nitrate (NO 3 -N) leaching and increase soil organic matter. This study examined the effect of incorporating a mature cover crop on subsequent N transformations. A field trial containing a winter cover crop of Merced rye and a fallow control was established in December 1991 in Salinas, California. The rye was grown for 16 weeks, so that plants had headed and were senescing, resulting in residue which was difficult to incorporate and slow to decompose. Frequent sampling of the surface soil (0-15 cm) showed that net mineralizable N (anaerobic incubation) rapidly increased, then decreased shortly after tillage in both treatments, but that sustained increases in net mineralizable N and microbial biomass N in the cover-cropped soils did not occur until after irrigation, 20 days after incorporation. Soil NO 3 -N was significantly reduced compared to winter-fallow soil at that time. A 15 N experiment examined the fate of N fertilizer, applied in cylinders at a rate of 12 kg 15 N/ha at lettuce planting, and measured in the soil, microbial biomass and lettuce plants after 32 days. In the cover-cropped soil, 59 % of the 16 N was recovered in the microbial biomass, compared to 21 % in the winter-bare soil. The dry weight, total N and 15 N content of the lettuce in the cover-cropped cylinders were significantly lower; 28 v. 39% of applied l6 N was recovered in the lettuce in the cover-cropped and winter-bare soils, respectively. At harvest, the N content of the lettuce in the cover-cropped soil remained lower, and microbial biomass N was higher than in winter-bare soils. These data indicate that delayed cover crop incorporation resulted in net microbial immobilization which extended into the period of high crop demand and reduced N availability to the crop.

Solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography/pulsed flame photometric detection was used to monitor methane thiol, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, dimethyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, methyl thioacetate, dimethyl sulfide, methyl thiobutyrate, and dimethyl trisulfide after heating strawberry puree at 95 °C for 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.5, 4, and 10 min. After heating 10 min, dimethyl trisulfide increased from 0.11 to 0.41 ng/mL, and dimethyl disulfide decreased from 1.3 to 0.3 ng/mL. Concentrations of methyl thiobutyrate and methyl thioacetate were approximately 6 and 60 ng/mL, respectively, and essentially unaffected by heating. Dimethyl sulfide (cabbage aroma) was not detected in fresh puree but increased exponentially during heating, reaching a value of 500 ng/mL (100ϫ ϫ ϫ ϫ ϫ its odor threshold) at 10 min. Dimethyl sulfide was the major sulfur aroma impact compound in heated strawberry puree and a major contributor to the flavor change associated with heated strawberry puree.