Abstract
Soil solarization coupled or not with three soil amendments (cattle manure, bio-compost, and Biocat-15) was evaluated for its efficacy against vascular wilt severity on tomato plants grown under greenhouse conditions in a naturally infested soil. In solarized plots, wilt severity, estimated through the vascular discoloration extent and noted on randomly selected tomato plants, was significantly reduced following all the tested organic amendments. Complete wilt suppression was achieved using cattle manure. Vascular wilt severity noted on symptomatic tomato plants was 28% higher in non-solarized plots than in solarized ones and this for all organic amendments combined. Plots amended with Biocat-15 showed 29% less disease severity as compared to the two other treatments. Fungal isolations performed on Potato Dextrose Agar medium from roots, collars and stems of symptomatic and randomly selected plants, revealed the involvement of Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum coccodes and R. bataticola in the observed wilts. Their isolation frequencies varied depending on wilt severity, solarization treatments (solarized or non-solarized) and tested soil amendments. Tomato production varied significantly depending on solarization treatments and tested organic amendments. Plants amended with cattle manure yielded significantly comparable production in the solarized and non-solarized plots while this production parameter was reduced by 19 and 27% following Biocompost and Biocat-15 treatments, respectively, on tomato plants grown in non-solarized plots. As for solarization effects, for all organic amendments combined, tomato production was significantly reduced by about 15% in the non-solarized greenhouse compared to the solarized one. Results from the current study showed that, under natural Tunisian conditions, single application of solarization combined with organic amendment not only reduced wilt severity, but also significantly enhanced tomato production. Thus, the repetitive combination of solarization and organic amendments could be a credible alternative for managing various soilborne fungal diseases and improving tomato yield in heavily infested fields.
Highlights
In Tunisia, soilborne fungal diseases are prevalent in almost all tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) growing areas. fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), fusarium Crown and Root Rot, caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) and verticillium wilt, incited by Verticillium dahliae, are the most severe and devastating diseases (Hibar et al, 2005; Aydi Ben Abdallah et al, 2019; Jabnoun-Khiareddine et al, 2019; Nefzi et al, 2019)
Vascular wilt severity reported on symptomatic tomato plants was 28% higher in non-solarized plots than in solarized ones, and this for all organic amendments combined
Results from the current study showed that, under natural Tunisian conditions, a single application of solarization combined with organic amendment reduced wilt severity and significantly enhanced tomato production
Summary
In Tunisia, soilborne fungal diseases are prevalent in almost all tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) growing areas. fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), fusarium Crown and Root Rot, caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) and verticillium wilt, incited by Verticillium dahliae, are the most severe and devastating diseases (Hibar et al, 2005; Aydi Ben Abdallah et al, 2019; Jabnoun-Khiareddine et al, 2019; Nefzi et al, 2019). Radicis-lycopersici (FORL) and verticillium wilt, incited by Verticillium dahliae, are the most severe and devastating diseases (Hibar et al, 2005; Aydi Ben Abdallah et al, 2019; Jabnoun-Khiareddine et al, 2019; Nefzi et al, 2019) Their prevalence as single and/or multiple infections leads to considerable yield losses yearly. Application of organic amendments and solarization, singly or in combination, can alter the chemical, physical, and biological properties of treated soils and result in pathogen bio-suppression and subsequently, effective control of associated diseases (Klein et al, 2007). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various organic amendments (animal manure, biocompost and a humic corrector of vegetable origin), applied singly or following soil solarization, against wilt diseases and their subsequent effects on associated fungal pathogens and tomato production
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