Broccoli residues can control Verticillium wilt of cauliflower

Abstract

Verticillium wilt, a damaging disease of cauliflower, was successfully managed in a multiple-year field study by incorporating broccoli residues into infested soil. In a study conducted from 1993 to 1995 in the Salinas Valley, cauliflower disease incidence and severity were consistently and significantly reduced in the broccoli residue plots when compared with no broccoli. The commercial standard plots fumigated with methyl bromide + chloropicrin had the lowest disease incidence and severity. In both years of our tarping study, Verticillium wilt severity was lowest in the metham sodium treatment. The cauliflower-Verticillium host-pathogen system therefore can act as a model for controlling soil-borne diseases without the use of synthetic chemicals.