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Effect of organic amendments and solarisation on Fusarium wilt in susceptible banana plantlets, transplanted into naturally infested soil

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Nasir, N., Pittaway, P.A. and Pegg, K.G. (2003) Effect of organic amendments and solarisation on Fusarium wilt in susceptible banana plantlets, transplanted into naturally infested soil. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 54 (3). pp. 251-257.

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AR02099

Publisher URL: http://www.publish.csiro.au

Abstract

Despite extensive research since pathogenicity was first established in 1919, no cultural or chemical control strategy has proven effective against Fusarium wilt of bananas. The efficacy of cultural control is attributed to the suppression of pathogen activity. Yet, amending naturally infested soil with aged chicken manure has been shown to enhance disease severity, without any change in the activity of the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) in the soil. In this study, the effect of amending soil with composted sawdust, and of solarising soil, was compared with the effect of amending soil with chicken manure. Bioassays comparing the activity of Foc in the soil with the extent of invasion of banana pseudostem tissue by Foc were used to investigate why strategies targetting pathogen survival have not proven successful in controlling this disease.

The enhancement of Foc invasion of the banana plantlets was reproduced with the addition of chicken manure to the naturally infested soil. However, changes in the activity of Foc in the soil were not associated with changes in the frequency of invasion of the plantlets. Invasion of banana pseudostems in the sawdust and solarisation treatments was not significantly different from invasion in the respective control treatments, despite a reduction in the activity of Foc in the sawdust-amended soil and an enhancement in the solarised soil. Moreover, the increase in Foc activity in the solarised soil recorded during the bioassays occurred despite the effectiveness of solarisation in reducing the survival of Foc in pre-colonised banana root tips buried in the soil. Changes in the frequency of invasion were associated with changes in the availability of mineral nitrogen, particularly ammonium N. These results suggest that the physiological response of banana cultivars to ammonium N may be associated with their susceptibility to Fusarium wilt. Accordingly, cultural strategies for controlling Panama disease will only be effective if they enhance the ability of the host to resist invasion.

Item Type:Article
Additional Information:Reproduced with permission from © CSIRO Publishing. Access to published version may be available via Publisher’s website.
Keywords:Panama disease; bioassay; nitrogen.
Subjects:Plant pests and diseases > Pest control and treatment of diseases. Plant protection > Organic plant protection. Biological control
Plant pests and diseases > Individual or types of plants or trees > Bananas
Live Archive:03 Feb 2004
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:47

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