Abstract
Wine grape production is an important economic asset in many nations; however, a significant proportion of vines succumb to grapevine trunk pathogens, reducing yields and causing economic losses. Cover crops, plants that are grown in addition to main crops in order to maintain and enhance soil composition, may also serve as a line of defense against these fungal pathogens by producing volatile root exudates and/or harboring suppressive microbes. We tested whether cover crop diversity reduced disease symptoms and pathogen abundance. In two greenhouse experiments, we inoculated soil with a 106 conidia suspension of Ilyonectria liriodendri, a pathogenic fungus, then conditioned soil with cover crops for several months to investigate changes in pathogen abundance and fungal communities. After removal of cover crops, Chardonnay cuttings were grown in the same soil to assess disease symptoms. When grown alone, white mustard was the only cover crop associated with reductions in necrotic root damage and abundance of Ilyonectria. The suppressive effects of white mustard largely disappeared when paired with other cover crops. In this study, plant identity was more important than diversity when controlling for fungal pathogens in vineyards. This research aligns with other literature describing the suppressive potential of white mustard in vineyards.
Highlights
Grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) are one of the most widely grown crops worldwide and an important economic commodity, especially in British Columbia where vineyards account for a total of 9652 hectares [1]
After a short conditioning period, we found that cover crop diversity was not associated with incidence of disease in grapevine roots
Incidence of disease was instead associated with white mustard, a common brassica cover crop
Summary
Grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) are one of the most widely grown crops worldwide and an important economic commodity, especially in British Columbia where vineyards account for a total of 9652 hectares [1]. Grapevines experience multiple challenges, including competition with weeds [2], nutrient leeching [3], root lesion nematodes [4], viral infections [5], and especially fungal diseases [6] that reduce profit for growers. Young vine decline (YVD) is a type of grapevine trunk disease that results in stunted growth, reduced yield, delayed fruiting, root necrosis, and eventually death in young vineyards 5–7 years old [11]. YVD occurs in British Columbia and other major wine grape regions around the world [6,12], resulting in significant economic losses [13].
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