E. Shlevin

Sporulation of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on stem surfaces of tomato plants and aerial dissemination of inoculum

ABSTRACT Plants exhibiting symptoms of wilt and xylem discoloration typical of Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were observed in greenhouses of cherry tomatoes at various sites in Israel. However, the lower stems of some of these plants were covered with a pink layer of macroconidia of F. oxysporum. This sign resembles the sporulating layer on stems of tomato plants infected with F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, which causes the crown and root rot disease. Monoconidial isolates of F. oxysporum from diseased plants were assigned to vegetative compatibility group 0030 of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and identified as belonging to race 1 of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. The possibility of coinfection with F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici was excluded by testing several macroconidia from each plant. Airborne propagules of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were trapped on selective medium in greenhouses in which plants with a sporulating layer had been growing. Sporulation on stems was reproduced by inoculating tomato plants with races 1 and 2 of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. This phenomenon has not been reported previously with F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and might be connected to specific environmental conditions, e.g., high humidity. The sporulation of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on plant stems and the resultant aerial dissemination of macroconidia may have serious epidemiological consequences. Sanitation of the greenhouse structure, as part of a holistic disease management approach, is necessary to ensure effective disease control.

Modeling the Survival of Two Soilborne Pathogens Under Dry Structural Solarization

ABSTRACT Structural (space) solarization of a closed, empty greenhouse for sanitation involves dry heating to 60 degrees C and higher and low relative humidity (RH), under a fluctuating temperature and RH regime. Survival of inocula of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and Sclerotium rolfsii during structural solarization was studied for 4 years (total of 12 experiments) in an attempt to develop a dynamic model for expressing the thermal inactivation of the pathogens. After 20 days of exposure, the populations of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and S. rolfsii were reduced by 69 to 95% and by 47.5 to 100%, respectively. The Weibull distribution model was applied to describe pathogen survival. The Weibull rate parameter, b, was found to follow an exponential (for F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici) and the Fermi (for S. rolfsii) functions at constant temperatures. To improve the applicability of the model, fluctuating conditions of both temperature and RH were utilized. The Weibull distribution derivative, expressed as a function of temperature and moisture, was numerically integrated to estimate survival of inocula exposed to structural solarization. Deviations between experimental and calculated values derived from the model were quite small and the coefficient of determination (R (2)) values ranged from 0.83 to 0.99 in 9 of 12 experiments, indicating that ambient RH data should be considered. Structural solarization for sanitation could be a viable component in integrated pest management programs.

Effect of moisture on thermal inactivation of soilborne pathogens under structural solarization

ABSTRACT Structural solarization of greenhouses for sanitation by closing them involves dry heating to 60 degrees C and higher with a consequent low relative humidity (RH) ( approximately 15%), thus requiring an extended period for thermal inactivation of pathogens. In an attempt to enhance pathogen control by increasing moisture during the hot hours of the day, various regimes of inoculum moistening were studied. However, wetting inoculum of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis and F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici resulted in less effective pathogen control compared with that of dry heating. Fifty percent effective dose (ED(50)) values of thermal inactivation of wetted and dry inoculum for the former pathogen were 18 and 7 days, respectively, and for the latter, a respective 9 and 4 days. This was because wetting resulted in inoculum cooling due to evaporation, which eventually led to its drying. A model describing the drying of wet inoculum in a wetted greenhouse, based on the fact that there was an approximately 10 degrees C difference between greenhouse and ambient temperatures, was proposed. A double-tent system reduced this difference to 1 to 2 degrees C, reduced moisture loss, and led to improved inoculum inactivation of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici. Thus, the ED(50) value of thermal inactivation was reduced from 15 days to 1 day, because this system provided both high temperature ( approximately 60 degrees C) and high RH ( approximately 100%), resulting in effective wet heating.

Joint Action of Disease Control Measures: A Case Study of Alternaria Leaf Blight of Carrot

ABSTRACT The efficacy of chemical (i.e., foliar fungicide sprays), genetic (i.e., moderately resistant cultivars), and cultural (i.e., drip-irrigation system) control measures was quantified individually and in combination in the management of Alternaria dauci, the causal agent of Alternaria leaf blight of carrot. Whereas host resistance and drip irrigation affected both the time of disease onset and the rate of disease progression, chemical control affected only the latter. In all cases, a single control measure did not provide an acceptable level of disease suppression. Control efficacy values (based on the relative area under the disease progress curve) for chemical, genetic, and cultural control were 58 +/- 11, 39 +/- 20, and 60 +/- 22%, respectively (values are means +/- standard error). By contrast, implementing two control measures concurrently always improved disease suppression significantly compared with the individual measures. Control efficacy values were 91 +/- 8% for the integration of chemical and genetic measures and 82 +/- 23% for the integration of chemical and cultural measures. Moreover, yields in plots protected by two control measures simultaneously were higher by 10.1 to 28.6 t/ha than those in the respective plots protected by single measures. The joint effect of chemical control and host resistance was additive, whereas that of chemical control and drip irrigation was synergistic in most cases. A literature review was performed to determine if these findings represent a general relationship between chemical and genetic, and chemical and cultural measures. Based on 19 reviewed cases, it was concluded that additive effects are the rule and synergistic or antagonistic effects are the exception. Synergistic effects of two control measures were observed when one control measure improved the efficacy of the other directly or when one control measure induced host resistance or predisposed the pathogen to increased susceptibility. These results may enable a more effective selection of candidate control measures for integration in the future.

Influence of rate of soil fertilization on alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria dauci) in carrots

The possibility of suppressingAlternaria dauci (Kühn) Groves & Skolko, the causal agent of Alternaria leaf blight in carrot, by excess application of fertilizer was examined in greenhouse and field experiments. Reducing the rate of fertilization by one half from the optimal rate (100 ppm N, 19 ppm P and 74 ppm K) resulted in a 23–30% increase in the severity of Alternaria leaf blight. However, doubling the rate of fertilization resulted in only a 10–15% decrease in disease severity. Inoculating with different concentrations ofA. dauci spores (103 or 104 spores/ml) did not alter the response of the plants to the fertilization rate, although significantly higher disease severity was observed in plants inoculated with the higher spore concentration. These results were corroborated in the field, where neither disease severity nor harvested yield was significantly affected by tripling the amount of soil fertilization. Application of foliar fungicides, on the other hand, had substantial effects on both disease and yield. Therefore, it was concluded that carrot crops should be fertilized and maintained for optimum yield, and thatA. dauci should be managed by properly timed applications of fungicides during the growing season.

Survival of plant pathogens under structural solarization

Structural solarization of greenhouses is a nonchemical sanitation procedure. The method involves dry heating, since maximal temperatures may exceed 60°C and consequent relative humidity (r.h.) is low (ca 15%), under fluctuating temperature and r.h. regimes. Thirty-five structural solarization experiments were performed over 7 years, testing one bacterial and five fungal plant pathogens. Various aspects of pathogen thermal inactivation under this method were studied. Thermal inactivation of the various pathogens differed according to the organism and inoculum form. Sensitivity to heat was highest withClavibacter michiganensis subsp.michiganensis and lowest withFusarium oxysporum f.sp.radicislycopersici inoculum in dry infected tomato stems, with ED80 values of 7 and 47 days, respectively; intermediate values were obtained forPythium sp.,F. oxysporum f.sp.melonis, F. oxysporum f.sp.basilici andSclerotium rolfsii. The maximal ambient temperatures were in the range of 28.2° to 33.1°C. Structural solarization for sanitation can be a useful component of integrated pest management in greenhouses.