EFFECTIVENESS OF SOIL SOLARIZATION AND BIOFUMIGATION FOR THE CONTROL OF CORKY ROOT AND ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE MELOIDOGYNE SPP. ON TOMATO

L. Moura, I. Queiroz, I. Mourão , L.M. Brito, J. Duclos
Biofumigation using Brassica green manure and animal residues, as a source of allelopathic and biocidal effective active principles on several soil-borne pathogens, pests and weeds, has been widely studied and now applied at a commercial level in several countries, both for organic and conventional farming systems. The effective-ness of soil solarization, alone and in combination with organic amendments, were tested against Pyrenochaeta lycopersici (corky root) and nematodes Meloidogyne spp. in a susceptible tomato cultivar (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), under greenhouse conditions, where the soil has a history of infection by both pathogens. Soil solarization was performed in NW Portugal, during the summer of 2006, for a period of 54 days, with clear polyethylene (200 µm). A randomized block design experiment included solarized and non-solarized soil, with three treatments: without and with biofumigation with soil application (50 t ha-1) of sheep manure and of organic cabbage crop residues (Brassica oleracea var. capitata). Tomato was planted in the greenhouse on March 2007 (6 months after plastic film removal) and commercial harvest occurred from 20 June to 25 July. Evaluation of corky root and nematode damage on the roots of tomato was recorded at the end of harvested, by using visual indexes in all crop treatments. Soil temperature at 10 cm depth increased on average 10.7°C with soil solarization. At 20 cm depth, only the biofumigation with cabbage residues treatment achieved soil temperatures ≥37°C. The effects of soil solarization in combination with biofumigation with sheep manure and organic cabbage crop residues showed a positive effect in controlling P. lycopersici and nematodes infection, reducing the damage on the tomato’s roots. No significant differences were found in tomato yield between solarized (S) and non-solarized (NS) treatments. At the final harvest the lowest yield (2.6±0.5 kg plant-1) was observed in S and NS, without organic amendments.
Moura, L., Queiroz, I., Mourão , I., Brito, L.M. and Duclos, J. (2012). EFFECTIVENESS OF SOIL SOLARIZATION AND BIOFUMIGATION FOR THE CONTROL OF CORKY ROOT AND ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE MELOIDOGYNE SPP. ON TOMATO . Acta Hortic. 933, 399-405
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.933.51
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.933.51
Pyrenochaeta lycopersici, Lycopersicon esculentum, yield
English

Acta Horticulturae