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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #402141
Research Project: Disease Management and Improved Detection Systems for Control of Pathogens of Vegetables and Strawberries

Location: Crop Improvement and Protection Research

Title: Effect of wheat cover crop on Macrophomina root rot and rhizosphere microbiome in strawberry

Author
item STEELE, MARY - California Polytechnic State University
item HOLMES, GERALD - California Polytechnic State University
item Henry, Peter
item HEWAVITHARANA, SHASHIKA - California Polytechnic State University

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2023
Publication Date: 3/15/2023
Citation: Steele, M., Holmes, G., Henry, P.M., Hewavitharana, S. 2023. Effect of wheat cover crop on Macrophomina root rot and rhizosphere microbiome in strawberry. American Phytopathological Society - Pacific Division Annual Meeting, March 14-16, 2023, Tucson, Arizona.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Macrophomina root rot, caused by the soilborne pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina, has been a significant threat to the California strawberry industry since the early 2000s. Cover cropping with wheat has shown potential in managing other soilborne pathogens through soil microbiome shifts. A field trial was conducted with ‘Summit 515’ and ‘WB 9229’ wheat cultivars, chloropicrin fumigation, and no-treatment control followed by ‘Albion’ strawberry planting to evaluate effects on soil microbiome and M. phaseolina disease mitigation. Root zone soil samples were obtained pre-treatment, post-treatment, and end-of-season to conduct Illumina amplicon sequencing for 16S and ITS genes. Strawberry plants in beds cover cropped with wheat did not result in significantly lower area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) compared to no-treatment beds (P > 0.05). Macrophomina phaseolina operational taxonomic unit (OTU) counts did not differ significantly across wheat, fumigated, and no-treatment soil samples from the end of the wheat growth period (P < 0.05). End-of-season soil samples from fields planted with ‘Summit 515’ and ‘WB 9229’ shared 35 taxa across Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Firmicutes with significantly higher OTU counts than soil from fumigated plots (P < 0.1). There were 3 taxa across the same phyla with significantly higher OTU counts in end-of-season ‘Summit 515’ and ‘WB 9229’ soil samples than soil from no-treatment plots (P < 0.1).