There are hundreds of soilborne plant pathogens. Most are fungi that can survive in the soil for long periods even in the absence of suitable host. Pathogenic fungi generally affect a wide range ofvegetables.
The attached 4 page fact sheet (pdf 186 kb) describes what you can do to protect your crops from soilborne pests.
Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotina and Club Root are all discussed. A selection of on-line resources is also provided.
Key Points :
Once pathogenic fungi establish on your farm they will remain an on-going concern for as long as you are growing susceptible crops.
If you are raising crops that are unaffected by these pests make sure you don’t bring them onto your farm in planting material, water or soil attached to equipment or vehicles.
- Check the fact sheet : Crop Protection Basics
- Understand the life cycles and conducive environmental conditions for fungi
- Sanitation - clean up your farm and remove all weeds, crop debris and volunteer hosts
- Consider your planting sequences and crop rotations
- Avoid heavily infested blocks by testing soil prior to planting
- Use clean planting material and resistant varieties
- Amend and manage soil to disadvantage the fungi
- Monitor – weather, block history, disease levels, irrigation and drainage patterns
- Remove and destroy sick plants when symptoms first show
Pathogenic fungi can infect plants, reducing crop yields and quality and are expensive and difficult to manage.
Management of soilborne pests is often inconsistent due to environmental conditions, pest population, chemical resistance, inadequate coverage/timing/placement/availablility of effective control products.
See Also :
Managing Sucking Pests
Managing Foliar Diseases
Managing Chewing Insects
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