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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #175181
Title: PERENNIAL CROP NURSERIES - PERFORMANCE OF METHYL BROMIDE ALTERNATIAVES IN THE FIELD.

Author
item SCHNEIDER, SALLY
item TROUT, THOMAS
item GERIK, JAMES
item AJWA, HUSEIN - UC DAVIS

Submitted to: Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Research Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2004
Publication Date: 10/31/2004
Citation: Schneider, S.M., Trout, T.J., Gerik, J.S., Ajwa, H.A. 2004. Perennial crop nurseries - performance of methyl bromide alternatiaves in the field.. Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Research Conference Proceedings. pp. 29-1 to 29-4.

Interpretive Summary: Certified nursery crops must be free of economically important plant parasitic nematodes, microscopic worms that attack plants. Methyl bromide is the most widely used soil treatment for meeting certification standards in perennial field nurseries. With the ban on import and manufacture of methyl bromide scheduled for Jan. 1, 2005, growers will need alternatives to methyl bromide. We conducted field trials in a rose nursery, a fruit and nut tree nursery, and a grapevine nursery. Our results show that combinations of 1,3-dichloropropene + chloropicrin and iodomethane + chloropicrin usually controlled the nematodes as well as methyl bromide. Even greater control is obtained when the plots are covered with plastic tarps that hold the chemical in the soil for a longer period of time. Chloropicrin by itself was usually not sufficient. Sodium azide did not provide adequate control of nematodes for certified nurseries in our trials.

Technical Abstract: Certified nursery crops must be free of economically important plant parasitic nematodes. Methyl bromide is the most widely used soil treatment for meeting certification standards in perennial field nurseries. With the ban on import and manufacture of methyl bromide scheduled for Jan. 1, 2005, growers will need alternatives to methyl bromide. Three field trials were conducted to evaluate potential alternatives. In a rose nursery trial, nematodes were detected in the roots at harvest in plots treated with untarped, shanked Telone C35 (1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) + chloropicrin (Pic)), lower rates of iodomethane (IM) + Pic, chloropicrin, and metam sodium. In this field, these treatments did not provide adequate nematode control for a certified nursery crop. The largest plants were harvested from plots treated with methyl bromide and tarped Telone C35. In a 2-year tree nursery trial, all treatments were shank-injected. Fewer nematodes were present in this trial, than in the 1-year grape nursery trial conducted at the same site one year earlier. 1,3-D + Pic and IM + Pic provided adequate nematode control for most crops. Pic alone, and untarped IM/Pic did not provide adequate control on Wonderful Pomegranate. In a grapevine nursery trial, nematode control on Cabernet Sauvignon and Autumn Royal on Freedom was comparable to methyl bromide in plots treated with drip-applied 1,3-D + Pic and IM + Pic. Sodium azide did not give adequate control for certified nurseries in this trial.