Articles
Strawberry cultivar responses to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae density in soil
Article number
1378_55
Pages
411 – 416
Language
English
Abstract
Coastal California remains one of the worlds primary strawberry growing regions with 13,000 ha in fruit production annually.
Since the phase-out of methyl bromide fumigation in 2005, soil-borne pathogens have been increasingly troublesome, causing strawberry mortality and yield losses.
Genetic resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae has been linked to a dominant gene, and recent breeding efforts focus on the development of cultivars with reliable resistance.
However, this gene is not present in most commonly grown cultivars.
In 2019-2021 field trials in California, the performance of short-day and day-neutral strawberry cultivars was evaluated in soil inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae at five levels ranging from 0 to 2000 CFU g‑1 soil.
Plant mortality for cultivars UCD Victor and UCD Warrior at all pathogen levels were similar to those in soil without the pathogen and showed no relationship with inoculum density on soil.
In 2019, plant mortality for cultivars Albion and Monterey was related to an increase in the pathogen density.
End-season mortality for Monterey and Albion was proportional to CFU concentration in soil.
In 2020, cultivar Petaluma mortality increased from 0 to 30% in soil with 2000 CFU compared to soil without the pathogen.
These results suggest that susceptible cultivars can be productive at low Fusarium levels in soil, and newly developed resistant cultivars can be reliably productive in soils heavily infested with this soil-borne pathogen.
Since the phase-out of methyl bromide fumigation in 2005, soil-borne pathogens have been increasingly troublesome, causing strawberry mortality and yield losses.
Genetic resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae has been linked to a dominant gene, and recent breeding efforts focus on the development of cultivars with reliable resistance.
However, this gene is not present in most commonly grown cultivars.
In 2019-2021 field trials in California, the performance of short-day and day-neutral strawberry cultivars was evaluated in soil inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae at five levels ranging from 0 to 2000 CFU g‑1 soil.
Plant mortality for cultivars UCD Victor and UCD Warrior at all pathogen levels were similar to those in soil without the pathogen and showed no relationship with inoculum density on soil.
In 2019, plant mortality for cultivars Albion and Monterey was related to an increase in the pathogen density.
End-season mortality for Monterey and Albion was proportional to CFU concentration in soil.
In 2020, cultivar Petaluma mortality increased from 0 to 30% in soil with 2000 CFU compared to soil without the pathogen.
These results suggest that susceptible cultivars can be productive at low Fusarium levels in soil, and newly developed resistant cultivars can be reliably productive in soils heavily infested with this soil-borne pathogen.
Authors
K. Elfar, O. Daugovish, A. Eskalen, A.M. Pastrana
Keywords
Fusarium wilt, Fragaria × ananassa, crown and root rot, soil fungal pathogen, inoculum level
Online Articles (56)