ISHS Acta Horticulturae 708: V International Strawberry Symposium
STRAWBERRY NURSERIES: SUMMARIES OF ALTERNATIVES AND TRIALS IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS |
| Authors: | L.J. Porter, S.W. Mattner, R.C. Mann, R.K. Gounder |
| Keywords: | Methyl bromide, strawberry nursery, Montreal Protocol, soil disinfestation, VIF films |
| Abstract:
Worldwide, only a limited number of trials have been conducted in the strawberry nursery industry to investigate alternatives to methyl bromide (MB) for soil disinfestation, in contrast to the large number conducted in the strawberry fruit industry. Moreover, the development of alternatives for nurseries is proving more difficult than for the fruit industry because of the higher levels of pathogen, weed and nematode control that are required. Consequently, many strawberry nursery industries from around the world have applied for, and been granted, critical use exemptions (CUE) from the MB phase-out, on grounds that there are no technical alternatives to soil fumigation with MB for runner production. The physical properties of alternative fumigants generally make application more difficult. The most promising, commercially-available alternatives have diffi-culty in achieving acceptable efficacy against pests, and in matching yields, plant-back times, and propensity to cause crop phytotoxicity. Despite this, in three key regions, 1,3-D/Pic and Pic alone have resulted in significant reductions in pathogen populations and disease incidence equivalent to that with MB/Pic. Furthermore, pre-liminary results in Australia with cyanogen and methyl iodide/Pic indicate that these products may offer better results than previous alternatives evaluated because their physical properties are more similar to MB. In several regions of the world e.g. northern Europe, plug plants (container-ised transplants produced in soilless media) have gained acceptance for many short season strawberry crops. Plug plants decrease growers’ reliance on soil fumigants because they reduce or eliminate the need for production in soil. However, the broad-scale adoption of plugs for long season production is proving difficult, owing to a lack of knowledge of the altered physiology of plug plants and their higher cost. In spite of the variable results obtained with alternatives, use of virtually im-permeable films (VIFs) has halved the amount of 1,3-D/Pic required for effective soil disinfestation in Spain, and also offers a means to reduce the amount of MB/Pic required for soil fumigation and global emissions of MB. | |
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