ISHS Acta Horticulturae 698: VI International Symposium on Chemical and non-Chemical Soil and Substrate Disinfestation - SD2004
PREVENTION OF ROOT DISEASES IN SOILLESS CULTURES USED AS METHYL BROMIDE ALTERNATIVES |
| Authors: | A. Minuto, A. Garibaldi |
| Keywords: | hydroponics, soilborne diseases, disinfection |
| Abstract:
The adoption of soilless growing methods constitutes a potential solution to reduce the uses of methyl bromide, a soil fumigant that is widely applied. Due to its possible contribution to the depletion of the ozone layer, methyl bromide will be banned by the end of the year 2004. Unfortunately, the transfer into the practice of sustainable closed soilless systems, instead of open ones, potentially has few but significant disadvantages: demand for a high quality supply water, risk of rapid dispersal of soilborne pathogens, accumulation of potential phytotoxic metabolites and organic substances in the recirculating nutrient solution. To limit the negative effects of pathogen dispersal throughout the recirculating solution some non-chemical systems are available (slow filtration, heat treatment, ultra-violet radiation, sonication, membrane filtration) as well as chemical ones (ozone and hydrogen peroxide treatment, chlorination, surfactants). Actually biocontrol agents (Streptomyces sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp.) and the induction of natural suppressiveness, based on resident microflora and/or the introduction of selected microorganism, as well as the integration of two or more systems for disease control represents an efficient strategy for a sustainable management of closed soilless systems. This paper focuses on the possibilities to overcome the disadvantages due to the adoption of closed soilless systems, emphasizing the possibility to adopt, for the disinfection of solutions, non-chemical strategies to optimize the growing system. | |
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