Abstract
Phytophthora is a severe root rot disease in most raspberry production regions throughout the world. Disease control options are limited to raised bed culture and fungicide applications. Few Phytophthora-resistant varieties are available that have commercial quality. Little is known about how soil amendments (i.e., composts, fertilizers, and limestones) influence Phytophthora control in raspberry. We evaluated the effects of preplant soil modification on the incidence of Phytophthora root rot in red raspberries. The experiment was conducted simultaneously at two sites to differentiate between the nutritional value of the amendments and the disease control value. One site has a known history of Phytophthora and a the second site is assumed to be free of the causal organism. Raspberry plant growth and fruit yield measurements were taken for all treatments. Preplant soil application of Gypsum (CaSo4) and post-plant applications of phosphorous acid sprays (H3PO3) had the greatest fruit yields compared to all other treatments in the Phytophthora-infested site. Gypsum-treated plots had greater cane diameter, cane height, and cane density compared to the control plots on the Phytophthorainfested site. A second experiment was conducted to further investigate the use of gypsum for control of Phytophthora in raspberries. Field soil was collected for use as potting medium from each of the aforementioned sites and pathogen free `Titan' plants were established in the greenhouse. After subsequent floodings, gypsum-treated soils delayed foliar disease symptoms compared to the control plots. At the end of the experiment, the control plants had 100% foliar disease symptoms and gypsum-treated pots had 33% disease symptoms. This study suggests that gypsum could be used in an integrated approach to Phytophthora management in raspberries. Future research should identify minimal effective rates of gypsum, examine other calcium sources, and determine effectiveness in other fruit crops.
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