The effect of spent mushroom sawdust compost mixes, calcium cyanamide and solarization on basal stem rot of the cactus Hylocereus trigonus caused by Fusarium oxysporum

Hyo Won Choi, Ill Min Chung, Mi Ho Sin, Yu Surk Kim, Jung Bo Sim, Jin Won Kim, Ki Deok Kim, Se Chul Chun

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14 Scopus citations

Abstract

A severe epidemic of basal stem rot of the cactus Hylocereus trigonus occurred in 2001, in greenhouses of Goyang City, South Korea, possibly due to continuous cultivation in soil beds. Fusarium oxysporum was isolated and its pathogenicity was demonstrated. Inoculation of mycelial plugs on stem disks of cactus showed brown discoloration. Inoculation of a spore suspension of F. oxysporum (1.40×104 or 1.24×108 spores ml-1) on the underground basal stems of cactus plants, followed by incubation at 28 °C in a growth chamber, led to the development of brown spots identical to the original symptoms after 3 months. The effect of amendment with spent mushroom sawdust, calcium cyanamide, straw and solarization on the development of the disease was studied. In a greenhouse study, amendment with spent mushroom sawdust compost to the disease-conducive soil reduced the disease incidence to 3-12%, as compared to 44-59% with the unamended disease-conducive soil. Autoclaved spent mushroom sawdust compost did not reduce the disease incidence. The bacterial (1.95×1011 cfu g-1) and fungal population (9.50×107 cfu g-1) of spent mushroom sawdust was significantly higher than those (2.0×109 cfu g-1 and 0.13×105 g-1 for bacteria and fungi, respectively) of disease-conducive soil. Also, disease-suppressive soil had a higher fungal population (1.25×105 cfu g-1) compared to disease-conducive soil (0.13×105 cfu g-1). This trend was repeated in the second experiment. Solarization with and without calcium cyanamide of disease-conducive soil reduced effectively pathogen population and disease development, resulting in 16-53% disease incidence, as compared to 81% in the untreated control. Rice straw as an organic amendment did not have synergistic effect on disease control when it was used along with calcium cyanamide for solarization. The results indicate that the control of basal stem rot with spent mushroom sawdust compost may be due to biological activity, and that solarization with calcium cyanamide is a highly effective tool for controlling basal stem rot.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)162-168
Number of pages7
JournalCrop Protection
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2007

Keywords

  • Basal stem rot
  • Biological control
  • Fusarium oxysporum
  • Soil solarization
  • Spent mushroom sawdust compost

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