Evaluating anaerobic soil disinfestation and other biological soil management methods for open-field tomato production in Florida

Authors: PAUDEL, BODH - University Of Florida; ZHAO, XIN - University Of Florida; DI GIOIA, FRANCESCO - University Of Florida; OZORES-HAMPTON, MONICA - University Of Florida; Hong, Jason; Burelle, Nancy; Rosskopf, Erin

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/8/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), amending the soil with composted poultry litter (CPL) and molasses (M), has been shown to be a potential alternative to chemical soil fumigation for tomato production, however, optimization of ASD and the use of other biologically-based soil management practices still needs to be explored. A field study was conducted in Citra, Florida in fall 2016, comparing ASD and other biological soil management treatments with an untreated control (UTC) and a chemical soil fumigated control (CSF). A field trial was conducted in Citra, Florida in which CPL was replaced with composted yard waste (YTW) for conducting ASD. All treatments containing M and the CSF were more productive and controlled more pests than did treatments that contained YTW alone or the UTC. All soil treatments demonstrated lower foliar disease severity in comparison with UTC. ASD conducted with YTW may be as effective for tomato production as ASD conducted with CPL.

Technical Abstract: Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD), amending the soil with composted poultry litter (CPL) and molasses (M), has been shown to be a potential alternative to chemical soil fumigation for tomato production, however, optimization of ASD and the use of other biologically-based soil management practices still needs to be explored. A field study was conducted in Citra, Florida in fall 2016, comparing ASD and other biological soil management treatments with an untreated control (UTC) and a chemical soil fumigated control (CSF; Pic-Clor 60 at 224 kg/ha). The six biological soil treatments included: ASD with 11 Mg/ha CPL and 6.9 m3/ha M, modified ASD treatments with composted yard trimming waste at 26.9 Mg/ha and M (YTW1+M) or 13.5 Mg/ha (YTW0.5+M), Soil Symphony Amendments (SSA, Terra Feed, LLC) at 816 kg ha-1, YTW1 only at 26.9 Mg/ha, and a combination treatment of YTW1 and SSA. The SSA treatment consisted of a pre-plant application of a propriety organic amendment mix (816 kg/ha), chitosan, M, and bacteria, and of repeated applications by fertigation with M once a week, and chitosan and Bacillus spp. once a month after planting. All treatments received 5 cm of initial irrigation after polyethylene mulching except UTC, CSF, and SSA. All plots were treated with the herbicide fomesafen before polyethylene mulch application. The tomato plant root-knot nematode galling index ratings were significantly lower in CSF, ASD, YTW1+M, and YTW0.5+M compared to UTC. The ASD, YTW1+M, YTW0.5+M, and CSF treatments exhibited significantly greater plant leaf and stem biomass compared to UTC. All soil treatments demonstrated lower foliar disease severity in comparison with UTC. ASD, YTW1+M, and CSF had significantly higher marketable and total fruit yields than UTC. Tomato fruit quality attributes including soluble solid content and titratable acidity did not differ significantly among soil treatments and controls.