Hydroponic production was initially explored as an alternative to field production due to the ease of plant growth control and the hopes of preventing the majority of disease causing agents known to be present in general soil environments. Of primary concern in terms of pathogens are the water-borne and water-motile zoosporic fungi (especially Pythium spp.) which are able to spread easily throughout the system and cause root-rot and wilting. Few pesticides are currently registered for use in hydroponic systems due to the high costs of registration, while registered pesticides carry a high cost to the grower. Recent legislative moves by numerous countries are also resulting in a trend towards the re-use of hydroponic nutrient solution. As a result such hydroponic solutions require a greater level of disinfection to prevent disease outbreaks but without resulting in chemical buildup of phytotoxic and environmental concern. Sanitiser formulation has seen significant changes over the last few years resulting in sanitisers being used in many new areas and in a more environmentally friendly nature. Although sanitisers are not designed to have specific action against micro-organisms (as is the case with fungicides and anti-microbial agents such as antibiotics), most sanitisers are able to act on cell membranes due to the inherent surfactant properties. This study attempted to determine the suitability of various sanitisers and chemicals as alternate means of control of Pythium in recirculating gravel hydroponic systems by: 1). Exposing Pythium zoospores in a water suspension to the sanitisers Actsol®, Agral 90®, Fitosan®, Prasin®, Purogene®, TecsaClor®, Sporekill® and copper (as copper (I) sulphate) which all managed to eliminate 80% or more of the viable inoculum within a 10 minute exposure time at relatively low concentrations. 2). Testing the above sanitisers for phytotoxicity effects on cucumber plants in a static hydroculture system under laboratory conditions and lettuce plants in a gravel bed hydroponic system under greenhouse conditions. Purogene® and TecsaClor® exhibited a slight growth promotion effect at low concentrations, yet still caused negative phytotoxic effects when dosed at high concentrations. All other sanitisers exhibited some measure of phytotoxicity, observed as growth retardation and leaf discolouration, with phytotoxic effects increasing with increasing concentrations. Copper sulphate was found to be the most phytotoxic chemical tested. 3). Addition of the sanitisers to a small scale hydroponic system (greenhouse), as well as to a semi-commercial scale (field) gravel bed hydroponic system artificially infested with Pythium and cultivated with lettuce. The sanitisers were also compared to a commercially available fungicide, Phytex®. Only Phytex® and Purogene® managed to effectively reduce disease incidence and promote growth over an untreated, Pythium infested control. The results indicated that Purogene® was the most effective for application into a gravel bed hydroponic system cultivated with lettuce, while no sanitiser treatment was able to equal the improved growth and disease control recorded with treatment of the commercial fungicide Phytex®. Although all the sanitisers were able to reduce levels of Pythium inoculum in the hydroponic nutrient solution, this beneficial effect did not translate into increased yields, due to the growth retardation due to phytotoxic effects. / Dissertation (MSc (Plant Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

In the United States, illnesses associated with fresh produce are increasing in frequency.  While contamination risks are present at every aspect of the farm to fork continuum, post-harvest practices holds the potential for cross-contamination of large amounts of product.  Post-harvest contamination risks for hydroponically grown lettuce packaged with intact roots and sold as "living lettuce"" are poorly understood.  In this study, transmission of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis to the roots and leaves of butterhead lettuce was studied when contamination was introduced during typical handling practices.  The effectiveness of random sampling strategies for selection of Salmonella contaminated leaves was assessed by co-inoculating the Salmonella solution with Glo Germ™ and comparing recovery from blacklight selected leaves.  The recovery of Salmonella was improved by only 0.5 log CFU/g when blacklight was used to select Glo Germ™ contaminated leaves (P=0.05). This suggests random leaf selection as described by current FDA protocols is adequate. In addition, this study showed rapid transfer of Salmonella from liquid to the roots and sub-sequentially to the leaves of living lettuce.  Salmonella persisted but did not grow on leaves when stored at 4˚C for 18-days. Storage at 12˚C was associated with 2 log CFU/g increases in Salmonella on roots after 18-days storage (P=0.0002), while 4˚C storage was associated with a decrease of 0.4 log CFU/g Salmonella on roots (P=0.0001). Growth occurred only under temperature abuse conditions.  This reinforces the need for maintaining temperature control and highlights the importance of identifying risks associated with post-harvest handling during hydroponic production and distribution. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

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