Soil amendments and suppresssion of Phytophthora root rot in avocado (Persea indica)

Abstract

The ability of microbial or mineral-based soil additives to suppress root rot caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi was assessed. Phosphite and metalaxyl treatments for the control of disease, and glyphosate for weed control were also assessed. A treatment simulating avocado orchard conditions had chicken manure, wood mulch, and mulch from beneath trees in an avocado orchard added to the pots. Soil treatments (three probiotic and two mineral-based) were applied to 9-month-old saplings growing in containers in a glasshouse. After one-month, half of the plants of each treatment were inoculated with the pathogen. Three months after inoculation, plants were harvested and plant growth and root damage were measured. In the first experiment infestation with P. cinnamomi significantly reduced fine root dry weight in all plants except those in soil treated with one silicon-based mineral mulch. Visible root damage was higher in plants treated with probiotics. In this experiment, and in a repeat experiment the reduction of fine root damage achieved by spraying plants with phosphite or addition of a silica based mineral mulch was similar. Phosphite was preferable to metalaxyl as a chemical treatment, as the latter reduced shoot and root growth of non-infected plants. Glyphosate treatment of wheat seedlings growing in the pots with the avocados reduced shoot and fine root growth of both non-infected and infected plants. These observations need to be confirmed under field conditions.