ISHS Acta Horticulturae 255: III International Symposium on Soil Desinfestation
SOIL SOLARIZATION TO IMPROVE YIELD OF GYPSOPHILA IN MONOCULTURE SYSTEMS |
| Authors: | A. Gamliel, J. Katan, E. Hadar |
| Abstract:
Reduced growth of plants in monoculture systems (soil sickness) is attributed to the accumulation in soil of detrimental biotic and abiotic agents. Previous results had shown that solarization of the monoculture soils resulted in improved plant growth. In nontreated soils, populations of fluorescent pseudomonads (FP) decreased while those of deleterious fungi causing stunting increased. Solarization reversed these microbial patterns. Gypsophila plants growing in a commercial greenhouse in a soil with an 8 year history of monoculture had reduced yields. Soil solarization improved plant growth and yield. A shift in microbial populations similar to that described above, was observed in the solarized plots. The intensified root colonization by FP in these plots was noted within 2 weeks after planting. The roots remained free of Pythium spp. throughout the 10 weeks testing period. The increases in yield by solarization were 15 %, 46 % and 48 %, at the first, second and third cycle of flower picking, respectively. In a second experiment, involving a plot with only 3 years history of monoculture, the increase in yield achieved by solarization and fumigation with methyl bromide was 15 % and 27 %, respectively, during the first growth cycle. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
