A comparison of dazomet, chloropicrin and methyl bromide as soil disinfestants for strawberries

Abstract

SummaryChemical soil disinfestants, applied in strips (bed-only) or overall (broadacre), were compared for their effects on weeds, soil nematodes, soil-borne diseases and yield in a commercial planting of strawberry cv. Elsanta grown on raised beds mulched with polyethylene. In bed-only application, dazomet (570 kg ha-1) and methyl bromide (450 kg ha-1) reduced nematode numbers and the amount of Verticillium dahliae in soil, and the incidence of crown rot (Phytophthora cactorum), but did not reduce red core ( P. fragariae) severity or the numbers of weeds. Treatment with both disinfestants resulted in yield increases from sampling bands and from whole beds compared with untreated beds. Over two seasons, the yield increases totalled 40-60%. Chloropicrin (1501 ha') reduced namatode numbers and the amount of V. dahliae to below detectable levels, but had no effect on weed numbers, crown rot incidence, red core severity or yield. After broadacre application, in which beds were constructed across plots after ...