John N. Pinkerton

The Use of Soil Solarization for the Management of Soilborne Plant Pathogens in Strawberry and Red Raspberry Production

Root rot caused by Phytophthora fragariae var. fragariae and P. fragariae var. rubi are major concerns in strawberry and raspberry production in the Pacific Northwest. Of lesser importance is black root rot of strawberry, caused by a complex of fungi and nematodes. Soil solarization was evaluated in 1997 in a strawberry planting and in 1998 in a raspberry planting for: (i) enhancing plant health and growth, and (ii) reducing population densities of root-destroying pathogens. Plots were solarized from mid-July to mid-September. Maximum and mean soil temperatures in solarized plots recorded at 10 cm depth were 48 and 33°C in the strawberry plots and 46 and 29°C in the raspberry plots. These temperatures were 7 to 17°C higher than temperatures recorded in nonsolarized plots. Soil collected after solarization was assayed by growing bait plants, cv. Totem strawberry or cv. Qualicum raspberry, at 15°C for 6 weeks in saturated soil to promote infections. Root health and plant growth were evaluated after 6 weeks. Solarization significantly reduced (P < 0.05) root necrosis and increased root weight of bait plants compared to plants grown in soil from nonsolarized plots. Infection of strawberry roots by P. fragariae, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Cylindrocarpon spp. was reduced (P < 0.05) by solarization in sampled soil. Disease was reduced in cv. Hood strawberries and Qualicum and Skeena red raspberries planted in solarized field plots. In the second growing season, total number and number of healthy primocanes of Qualicum plants were greater (P < 0.05) in solarized plots compared to nonsolarized plots. Solarization combined with applications of mefenoxam was no more effective in controlling diseases than solarization alone, but better than mefenoxam alone. Skeena plants responded similarly, but the differences were not significant. Red raspberry plants growing in solarized soil yielded more fruit than plants growing in nonsolarized soil in the third year after solarization. Solarization has potential as a component in an integrated pest management program of root diseases in raspberry and strawberry production, particularly within the first 2 years following planting.

Consequences of Mesocriconema xenoplax Parasitism on Pinot noir Grapevines Grafted on Rootstocks of Varying Susceptibility

Pinot noir grapevines grafted to five rootstocks (Vitis vinifera) and a self-rooted control known to vary in resistance to ring nematode (Mesocriconema xenoplax) were studied over four years to evaluate durability of resistance to ring nematode and to better understand how ring nematode parasitism affects below- and aboveground vine growth and physiology. Ring nematode populations in infested microplots of all three susceptible vines (self-rooted, 3309C, 1103P) increased rapidly during the second year and remained high throughout the study, while nematodes increased in two of the previously resistant rootstocks (110R, 101-14) during the third year. Only 420A remained resistant through the entire 4-year period. The impact of ring nematode parasitism on vines was most apparent in the susceptible rootstocks and self-rooted vines with reductions in fine root growth and colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) occurring as early as the second year. Reductions in both fine root production and AMF colonization due to ring nematode were greater in subsequent years in the susceptible vines. The frequency of fine roots containing vesicles of AMF was reduced in all five rootstocks that supported a population increase of ring nematode (only 420A was unaffected). Ring nematode did not alter aboveground vine performance until the third or fourth growing season, when shoot lengths and pruning weights were reduced in the three susceptible vines. Ring nematode did not alter shoot growth in any of the three resistant rootstocks, nor did it affect leaf gas exchange or leaf water potential in any vines in any year. However, by year four ring nematode reduced fruit yield as a main effect across all rootstock treatments.

Plant-parasitic nematodes associated with highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are an important agricultural crop in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and coastal British Columbia of Canada. Three separate surveys were conducted to elucidate the occurrence and distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. Plant-parasitic nematodes were detected in 73% of the surveyed blueberry fields. The two most commonly encountered plant-parasitic nematodes in all geographical locations surveyed were Paratrichodorus spp. and Pratylenchus spp. Xiphinema americanum was also detected during the surveys, but was geographically limited to southern Washington and the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. Five other plant-parasitic nematode genera/families were detected during the surveys, but never at high frequencies.