Fumigation before strawberry (<i>Fragaria×ananassa</i> Duchesne) planting was a common practice as they are susceptible to numerous pests. Methyl bromide, the colorless, odorless gas, was the chosen fumigant for growers until it was classified as an ozone-depleting substance and its use was gradually restricted and legally phased in 2015. Fumigant use has constraints and thus research on other preplant alternatives for soil sterilization of strawberry annual plasticulture production is necessary. This research focused on soil solarization, products including paper pellets, mustard seed meal, and corn gluten meal. Two studies were conducted at the Virginia Tech Hampton Road AREC (Agricultural Research and Extension Center), and follow-up studies at the Flanagan Farm in Virginia Beach. The first study at the AREC evaluated three-week soil solarization with and without pelleted products. The second study evaluated different rates of paper pellets, paper pellets plus mustard seed meal, mustard seed meal alone and fumigated plots. The purpose of each study was to evaluate the sterilization-mulching effects on weeds, plant health and stand count, yield and fruit parameters (as size and sweetness). A container-grown plant study determined if there was any phytotoxic effect of paper pellets and mustard seed meal on pansies (Viola tricolor). Another study evaluated the effect of paper pellets and mustard seed meal on germination of different weed species. The paper pellet and soil solarization treatments showed decreased early season weeds but season-long weed control was not provided by the same treatment. In the study one, paper pellet improved yield in the first season but not the second season. Paper pellet and mustard seed meal increased yield compared to the black plastic control in the second study. No phytotoxicity was observed on pansies in response to paper pellet and mustard seed meal rates. In the grower farm study, weed biomass was higher under the clear tarp than the black tarp perhaps due to more light transmission under the clear tarp. A new locally available paper pellet product was used at the grower farm and the plants in plots treated with this product, had lower health rating and yield compared to other treatments. / PHD / The strawberry fruit is not a typical fruit but develops from the receptacle and is well known for the bright red color, fleshy fruit and characteristic aroma. Growing strawberries is challenging as they are susceptible to soil-borne pests. Preplant fumigation was commonly accomplished by the use of methyl bromide (MB) to ensure the soil-borne pests are adequately controlled; until MB use as a fumigant was phased out by the Montreal Protocol Act. Use of fumigants require maintaining a fumigant management plan, a buffer zone between the treatment area and high population zone areas, and worker safety practices. There is a need to evaluate alternative preplant pest control strategies as soil solarization and mulching treatments that would not compromise on berry yield and quality. Two experiments were conducted at the Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Beach.
One experiment conducted in 2014-15 and 2015-16 evaluated soil solarization (a method where moistened soil is covered with a clear tarp, traps solar radiation, and thereby heats up the soil), and mulching treatments (paper pellet mulch, mustard seed meal, and corn gluten meal) used alone or in combination with soil solarization and their effect on weed control, crop growth, crop yield, and fruit quality. In the second study rates of paper pellets, mustard seed meal (alone or in combination of these), and fumigated plots were evaluated to study the effect on strawberry plants. The most effective treatments from the two studies were used in an experiment at a grower’s farm. A shorter duration of soil solarization (three week) with paper pellet showed lower early weed density than black plastic control, but overall solarization did not have consistent beneficial effect on yield. Paper pellets disintegrate over time and the pellets being porous to water; they were not an effective tool for weed control. However, combination of paper pellets and mustard seed meal showed a beneficial effect on yield compared to the black plastic control treatments. The plots covered with black tarp had less weed biomass than those covered with clear tarp in the grower farm study
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/97504 |
| Date | 04 October 2018 |
| Creators | Das, Sanghamitra |
| Contributors | Horticulture, Samtani, Jayesh B., Reiter, Mark S., Derr, Jeffrey F., Niemiera, Alexander X. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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