Field experiments were conducted in the two cropping seasons between 2002 and 2004 to determine effects on soil-borne diseases, weeds and yield of strawberry of raised bed solarization (RBS), alone or with chicken manure (CM) amendment, methyl bromide (MB), TeloDrip (1,3-dichloropropene + chloropicrin), short RBS combined with reduced doses of metam sodium (MS) and TeloDrip. In both seasons, raised bed soil solarization (for 7 weeks) alone or with CM amendment (10 t/ha), MS (50 ml/m 2 ) after 2-week RBS, and MB (50 g/m 2 ) significantly reduced soil-borne diseases (caused by Rhizoctonia spp. and Phytophthora cactorum) while application of TeloDrip at a rate of 500 kg/ha and a half-dose after short solarization controlled the soil-borne diseases to a lesser extent in the 2003-2004 cropping season. All treatments provided effective control of four weed species; annual bluegrass (Poa annua), common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) but not horseweed (Conyza canadensis). In the first year trial, total marketable yields from RBS with or without CM and 2-week solarization plus MS were equivalent to yields produced by MB treatment whereas only raised bed soil solarization and CM amendment led to the same increase of yield as MB in the second year.

A weed survey conducted in 2004 and 2005 in Aydin province of Turkey showed that Solanum nigrum, Xanthium strumarium, Amaranthus retroflexus, Portulaca oleracea, Sonchus oleraceus and Datura stramonium were the most prevalent weeds in the cotton fields exhibiting Verticillium wilt. Verticillium dahliae Kleb. was recovered from A. retroflexus and X. strumarium in those cotton fields. This is the first report of V. dahliae occurring naturally in A. retroflexus in Turkey. Pathogenicity tests on cotton and weeds showed that the virulence of V. dahliae isolates from weeds was higher on cotton plants than on weeds, with the disease severity ranging from 31.7% to 98.0%. Disease severity of V. dahliae isolates was 54.7-93.9% on eggplant, 23.7-51.6% on cucumber and 11.0-16.4% on tomato, whereas it did not cause any disease symptoms, or only low levels, on pepper and bell pepper. Two vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) were identified among seven tested weed isolates: VCG2A (two isolates) and VCG2B (three isolates) using international reference strains.

Field experiments were carried out during two growing seasons at Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture, in Aydın-Turkey to evaluate the weed control efficacy of olive processing waste (OPW) in okra, faba bean, and onion. OPW was incorporated into the soil prior to seeding at 10, 20, 30, and 40 tons (t)/ha. Non-treated plots and plots treated with trifluralin in okra and pendimethalin in faba bean and onion were used for comparison. OPW suppressed common purslane, redroot pigweed, and junglerice in okra; littleseed canarygrass, annual bluegrass, wild chamomile, and shepherd's-purse in faba bean and onion. OPW was in most cases equally as effective as soil herbicides; however, 10 t/ha provided sometimes lower efficacy than herbicides. OPW had no negative effects on okra and faba bean, while onion was negatively affected by doses over 30 t/ha. Overall, OPW can be applied at 10 to 20 t/ha doses for weed control with adequate crop safety.

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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of soil solarization on soilborne diseases, weeds and plant yields by using polyethylene film (30-μm-thick) containing different additives [ultraviolet (UV), ultraviolet + infrared (UV + IR), ultraviolet + infrared + anti-fog + anti-dust (UV + IR + AF + AD)], and used polyethylene film (260-μm-thick). Trials were conducted in commercial strawberry (Fragaria ananassa cv. 'Camarosa') fields in the town of Sultanhisar in Aydin province, Turkey, between 2007 and 2009. The highest soil temperatures at the depth of 10 cm under a polyethylene sheet containing UV + IR + AF + AD were 54°C in 2007 and 50.7°C in 2008. During the 2007 growing season, collapse and death of strawberry plants were not detected. At the end of the 2008 season (May-June), collapsed and dying strawberry plants were observed. Pure cultures of Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani were isolated from affected roots and crowns of plants. Viability studies of M.phaseolina were conducted under various field conditions and temperatures and M. phaseolina sclerotia survived more than 18 days at 45°C. There was a sharp decline in M. phaseolina at 50°C, where it survived for 19 h but was completely killed at 20 h. It first lost viability after 17 h at 50°C and after 60 min at 55°C. In the field, solarization did not reduce the viability of M. phaseolina at a soil depth of 10 or 20 cm; however, a significant reduction (66%) in survival was determined at a soil depth of 5 cm. All treatments controlled Portulaca oleracea, Amaranthus spp., Digitaria sanguinalis, Echinochloa crus-galli, Veronica hederifolia, Raphanus raphanistrum, Setaria verticillata and Mercurialis annua at a rate of 100%, but no treatment was effective on Cyperus rotundus. The marketable fruit yield was 38,004 kg.ha −1 for UV + IR, 35,834 kg.ha −1 for UV-added polyethylene film and 35,368 kg.ha −1 for used polyethylene sheetcovered plots, whereas it was 27,365 kg.ha −1 for untreated control plots.

The herbicidal effect of olive processing wastes (OPW) on some weed species in wheat, maize and sunflower was investigated in the Aegean region of Turkey. In trials with maize and sunflower, OPW was applied as an airdried solid form at 3 and 4.5 kg m )2 . It provided an effectiveness level on Portulaca oleracea of 63-98%. In trials with wheat, OPW was applied as solid and liquid forms, each at two different doses, namely 4.5 and 6 kg m )2 (solid), and 5 and 10 L m )2 (liquid). Solid OPW provided a reduction in total weed coverage of 75% and 81% at doses of 4.5 and 6 kg m )2 , respectively.The weed coverage reduction by liquid OPW was 39% and 62% with 5 and 10 L m )2 , respectively. Apart from 12-26% reduction of the number of germinating seeds, OPW showed no toxic effects on maize and sunflower. Wheat was affected in the initial stages but no adverse effect was detected at harvest. It can be concluded that the herbicidal effect of OPW may be considered as an alternative to chemical weed control in some important summer crops (maize and sunflower) and for most of the weeds in winter wheat.

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