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News & Updates

SOIL SOLARIZATION AND ANAEROBIC SOIL DISINFESTATION FOR CONTROL OF NEMATODES, WEEDS, AND SOIL BORNE PLANT PATHOGENS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA STRAWBERRY: RAISED BED vs FLAT GROUND

1/7/2024

 
F.V. Sances (1), B. Aglave (1), K. Williams (1), C. Boone(1), B. Booker (2), W. Schonborn (3), & E. Rosskopf (3)​
(1) Florida Ag Research, (2) Ag Metrics Group, (3) US Department of Agriculture (Collaboration Only)

Introduction

Management of soil borne pests in commercial Florida strawberry farms is a reoccurring challenge. To meet the demand for domestically produced winter fruit, while remaining in compliance with regulatory pressure and production costs, Florida’s strawberry growers have limited options for soil borne pest control and have come to rely on use of the few remaining fumigants, and, organically,  new land, isolation, high rates of soil amendments, and a variety of organically approved products with varying levels of efficacy.​
SOIL SOLARIZATION AND ANAEROBIC SOIL DISINFESTATION FOR CONTROL OF NEMATODES, WEEDS, AND SOIL BORNE PLANT PATHOGENS IN CENTRAL FLORIDA STRAWBERRY: RAISED BED vs FLAT GROUND
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Here, we build on previous work from these and other researchers to develop site-specific “Best Practices” for alternative nematode and pathogenic soil fungi control for Central Florida. Two summer solarization trials took place at the Dover Lab and yields for ASD + Solarization were on par with fumigation. This season we increased precision of applications for manure and molasses and included raised beds or flat ground comparisons.​
Florida Ag Research - Direct metered injection of chicken litter and molasses to raised beds. July 2023.
Raised Bed: The beds were formed before the application of materials; A Clamco was utilized to knife the chicken litter directly into the treated plot, followed by molasses pumped directly into the treated area. Beds were then rototilled and reformed then covered with clear or opaque plastic depending on the treatment.​
Flat Ground: In many commercial settings, ASD and Solarization treatments are easier accomplished on flat ground. Here, the chicken manure was applied to the treated area utilizing a cone spreader, followed by mechanical injection of molasses, then the area was disked and plastic mulched. 
Ag Metrics Group - Soil Temperature

Methodology

Raised Bed: Planting beds were inoculated with soil-borne diseases, Sting nematodes, and common weed seeds before treatment. Four replicates of five treatments were randomly placed into planting beds previously farmed in strawberries. Following summer solarization/ASD, beds were formed in September (Fumigated) and in October, half of the ASD and Solarization plots with clear plastic were painted black.  ​

Flat Ground: Bare ground areas were inoculated with soil-borne diseases, Sting nematodes, and common weed seeds before treatment. Four replicates of four treatments were placed into previously farmed strawberry ground. Each plot comprises one planted bed 120 ft in length. Following summer solarization and ASD plots, beds were formed in September.​
Ag Metrics Group - Control plots were fumigated in September. Beds were formed on the flat ground and strawberries were planted October 14, 2023. Drone image taken August 2023.

Crop Health

Ag Metrics Group - Crop Health - Raised Bed Treatments
Ag Metrics Group - Plant Diameter - Raised Bed Trials
Ag Metrics Group - Cumulative Flowers - Raised Bed Trial
Ag Metrics Group - Dead Plants - Raised Bed Trials

Soil Pest Control

Ag Metrics Group - Soil Pest Control - Macrophomina Root Damage
Ag Metrics Group - CFUs and Nematodes
Pest control comparison between raised bed and flat ground experiments. Root damage severity due to Macrophomina (a) was greater in the untreated inoculated plots. (b) Fumigated soil had significantly lower incidence of soil pathogens. ​
Ag Metrics Group - Untreated root discoloration

Yields

Ag Metrics Group - Raised Bed Trials
Ag Metrics Group - Raised Bed Solarization
Ag Metrics Group - Flat Bed Trials
Ag Metrics Group - Flat Ground Solarization
Ag Metrics Group - 2023 Cumulative Yields
Ag Metrics Group - Duette Grower Site - Flat Ground Graph
Cumulative Yield data for approximately 6 weeks of harvests at the raised bed (a) and flat ground (b) fields, compared to cumulative annual yield from the previous years’ study at Dover (c) and the Duette, FL, grower site that was a flat ground treatment (d).​

Florida Strawberry Growers Association logo
Additional research funding provided by​ The Florida Strawberry Growers  Association Foundation​ and the USDA
USDA logo

Efficacy of Soil Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for Control of Nematodes, Weeds, and Soil Borne Plant Pathogens in Central Florida

11/11/2023

 
F.V. Sances (1), B. Aglave (1), K. Williams (1), C. Boone (1), S. Sances (2), W. Schonborn (3), & E. Rosskopf (3)
(1) Florida Ag Research, (2) Ag Metrics Group, (3) US Department of Agriculture (Collaboration Only)

Introduction
The recurring strawberry production challenges of managing soil borne pests in commercial Florida strawberry farms have never been greater. In conventionally farmed operations, increasing regulatory pressures on remaining registered chemical soil fumigants, and the costs associated with their use are important factors that reduce the sustainability of the industry going forward. Also, while still in its infancy, organic strawberry production in Florida is now well established, and the 2022-23 season brought numerous examples of severely impacted plantings from both nematodes and soil borne diseases. To meet the demand for domestically produced winter fruit, Florida’s organic strawberry growers have limited options for soil borne pest control and have come to rely on use of new land, field site isolation, high rates of organic soil amendments, and a variety of alternative organically approved soil pest control products with varying levels of efficacy.
For these reasons, both organic and conventional growers need alternative soil pest management techniques, and this project builds on previous work from these and other researchers to develop site-specific “Best Practices” for alternative nematode and pathogenic soil fungi control for Central Florida. These 2023 studies focused on optimizing Soil Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation techniques in replicated field experiments, as well as installation of several grower-site demonstrations of these technologies with Central Florida strawberry growers for 2024.
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Metagenomic analysis of 16S and ITS sequencing data of soil microbiome. 1149 features detected across 48 samples. Dendrogram determines similarity across samples. Unsupervised clustering (colors) show sample consistency across seasonal timepoints as well as potential outliers (left samples). Processed data was derived from Mr. DNA pipeline. Final timepoint had the clearest separation in soil treatments indicating high reliability of treatment specific species detection.
2022-2023 Data Review
This presentation brings current performance data from these alternative soil management practices, which includes molecular analysis of effects of treatments to the soil food-web, effects on bedding plastics used in solar heating of soil, and a comparison of yield enhancement and pest suppression efficacy of the methods.
Cumulative Yield Comparison
Over the 2022-23 season, the period when soil samples were collected, ASD + Solarization resulted in yields on par with the fumigated plots.
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Soil Borne Pest Control
Macrophomina and nematode control for solarized plots was improved by “over the top” and ASD methods. Sting nematode suppression in the ASD and “over the top” treatments were on par with fumigant-treated plots. ASD did have a negative effect on certain brands of clear plastic.
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Soil Sample Diversity
Data summaries of "stackplot" representations of abundance data from genus level. Each timepoint grouped by treatment and stacked with detectable genera diversity expressed as percent of total abundance.  Top 12 out of 349 genera listed. Alternating color bands show diverse genera, thickness is percent abundance ranked from most (bottom) to least (top).
EARLY SOIL SAMPLE
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MID-SEASON SOIL SAMPLE
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LATE-SEASON SOIL SAMPLE
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Additional research funding provided by The Florida Strawberry Growers Association Foundation and the USDA
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