As
a substitute for methyl bromide, effects of allyl isothiocyanate
(AITC) on nontarget microorganisms in soil are poorly understood.
This study measured the half-life of AITC in the soil as well as its
effects on the soil substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and on communities
of soil bacteria and fungi. The results showed that AITC had a short
half-life and a short-term inhibition of SIR; high-throughput sequencing
analysis showed that AITC had less effect on bacterial than fungal
communities. Fumigation reduced the diversity of soil bacteria temporarily,
but stimulated the diversity of soil fungi in the long-term and significantly
changed the structure of the fungal community. Following AITC fumigation
there were significant increases in the relative abundance of probiotics
such as Sphingomonas, Streptomyces, Hypocreales, Acremonium, Aspergillus, and Pseudallescheria that
help to control plant diseases. Our study provided useful information
for assessing the ecological safety of AITC.
BackgroundRoot-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp., RKN) causes a disease that significantly reduces the yield of greenhouse cucumber crops year after year. Chemical control based on a single pesticide is now unreliable mainly due to pest resistance. Fumigant and non-fumigant pesticide combinations can potentially result in effective and economic RKN control.ResultsCombining the insecticide abamectin (ABM) with fumigants dazomet (DZ) or chloropicrin (CP) significantly extended the half-life of ABM by an average of about 1.68 and 1.56 times respectively in laboratory trials, and by an average of about 2.02 and 1.69 times respectively in greenhouse trials. Laboratory experiments indicated that all the low rate ABM combination treatments controlled RKN through a synergistic effect. ABM diffused into the nematode epidermis more rapidly when ABM was combined with DZ and CP, giving effective nematode control and an increase cucumber total yield, compared to the use of these products alone. ABM combined with CP or DZ produced significantly higher total cucumber yield than when these products were used alone.ConclusionsA low concentration of ABM combined with DZ in preference to CP would be an economic and practical way to control nematode and soilborne fungi in a greenhouse producing cucumbers.
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