Reduction of pesticides through the use of composts for sustainable production of strawberries

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Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) is an important disease affecting strawberry production in Canada for which the current methods of control are limited to the use of fumigants. Fumigation represents numerous inconveniences that are not conducive to sustainable agriculture. Indeed, fumigation is an expensive practice involving the use of toxic active ingredients that have negative environmental and social impacts. Moreover, the use of fumigants will not only eradicate the target pathogen but also benefic soilborne microorganisms. This creates a microbiological void in which different pathogens including V. dahliae can more readily occupy the ecological niche and cause more devastating infections of the strawberry plants. The application of composts could provide an efficient method to significantly reduce or completely replace the use of synthetic fumigants. The use of composts following fumigation would restore the microbiological void created by the application of fumigants and could therefore result in an environment less conducive to high infection by V. dahliae. As part of ongoing research aimed at developing environmentally-safe and sustainable strategies for the control of plant diseases, the present project will focus on the following objectives: (i) to determine the effect of compost types, doses and period of application on the development of strawberry verticillium wilt under greenhouse and commercial growing conditions, (ii) to investigate the potential role of compost/substrate physico-chemical and microbiological properties in the inhibition of strawberry verticillium wilt, and (iii) to recommend a control strategy for verticillium wilt of strawberries including the appropriate doses and periods of application of composts alone or in combination with reduced applications of fumigants. Expected benefits of the proposed project include a rapid transfer of the results of the study to the horticulture industry considering the familiarity of growers with the use of composts and the fact that the horticulture industry and governments have recognized the physiological and nutritional benefits of composts towards plants.