Effects of different farming systems and crop protection strategies on the health status and yield of carrots Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of farming systems on the health status of carrots cv. Koral and root yield components. The organic farming system promoted the spread of damping-off of seedlings in the first two wet growing seasons and Alternaria leaf blight in the last growing season with normal precipitation levels. At harvest, the severity of root diseases was low. During storage, carrot roots were susceptible to soft rot, Sclerotinia rot and dry rot. In the integrated farming system, the symptoms of mixed rot were more observed at harvest and after storage, and of dry rot after storage. In the organic farming system, the symptoms of dry rot were more noted at harvest, and the symptoms of crater rot were more observed after storage. During storage, the applied crop protection methods significantly suppressed mixed rot in the integrated farming system, and dry rot in the organic system. The isolation of potential pathogens from carrot petioles and roots confirmed their participation in the disease process. Negative correlations were found between the severity of Alternaria leaf blight vs. the marketable yield of carrots and single root weight in both production systems in selected years of the study.