Welcome to the Integrated soilborne disease management project website. This project is a collaboration across five states funded by the USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative grant # 2017-03192. The goal of the project is to optimize biological control strategies for key pathogens and combine to create integrated systems for managing diseases and pests in strawberry production. To do this we will:
a) Develop and implement effective non-fumigant management systems and generate scientific and practical advances for specific regions, pathogens and pests by:
i) improved understanding of how and under what conditions anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD see video ) effectively controls different pathogens
ii) optimize ASD in terms of carbon source type and rate, water use and fertility management to enhance its effectiveness, reduce costs and minimize any potential environmental impacts
ii) develop and evaluate regionally-specific integrated non-fumigant management systems for strawberry production
b) Coordinate multiple strategies to disseminate knowledge of management alternatives to growers and generate location and pathogen/pest-specific guides to optimize adoption;
c) Understand and address barriers to adoption of non-fumigant management options.
The main non-fumigant approaches being tested are anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD, – see video and this link https://shennanlab.sites.ucsc.edu/home/page-builder/alternatives-to-soil-fumigation/for a description of this technique), in conjunction with crop rotation and use of disease tolerant cultivars. Integrated disease management systems are being developed for strawberry production areas in California, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee, each targeting key pathogens that impact production in the specific regions. For information about the project team in each region and how to contact us please go to the project team page .
Announcements
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