California Strawberry Commission Continues Research Partnership With Department of Pesticide Regulations To Improve Control of Soil-Borne Diseases

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Jun 19, 2014, 02:00 ET

WATSONVILLE, Calif., June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California Strawberry Commission has received a grant from California's Department of Pesticide Regulations (DPR) of $298,472 for a cooperative research project to investigate ways to improve control of soil-borne diseases.

This grant will help strawberry farmers continue the world's leading research on finding fumigant alternatives. California strawberry farmers have invested more funds into researching fumigant alternatives than any other crop and in the world.

Alternatives to fumigation fail to control plant disease in strawberry field. (PRNewsFoto/California Strawberry Commission)

Alternatives to fumigation fail to protect strawberry plants from soil diseases. (PRNewsFoto/California Strawberry Commission)

Soil-borne diseases harm the quantity and quality of a wide variety of crops in California, including strawberries, which effects farmers as well as consumers who value the abundance of healthy, locally-produced fruits and vegetables. If untreated, studies show that soil-borne diseases could cost Central Coast farm communities more than $1 billion annually in lost revenue.

Soil-borne diseases are controlled with fumigants, which clean the soil before crops are planted to rid the soil of diseases and harmful pests. They are not sprayed nor applied onto crops. Nearly half of the state's crops rely on fumigants to cleanse the soil before planting; but two of the most effective and widely-used fumigants are no longer available to farmers in California because of increased regulations or pressure from activists.

The grant from DPR will investigate how to improve the effectiveness of an alternative soil treatment process, anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) which has shown some limited promise in laboratory and field tests in managing soil-borne diseases, but with very inconsistent results. ASD consists of adding a large amount of plant material (such as rice bran at the rate of several tons per acre) to the field, covering the field with plastic, and then saturating the soil with water. The plastic remains in place for three to four weeks, the plant material decomposes and creates anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions under the plastic. As the temperatures increase, the soil pH decreases, and the balance of organic acids and soil microbes shifts. These changes may suppress some soil-borne diseases under some circumstances. This new research project will determine if using a small amount of a soil fumigant in combination with ASD could improve its effectiveness, reliability, consistency and cost.

In addition to the grant to the California Strawberry Commission, DPR awarded grants for research into alternatives to soil fumigation methods currently used by California pistachio and almond growers. Pistachio farmers use soil fumigants to control nematodes (microscopic worms) which reduce crop yields; almond orchards often are fumigated before the trees are planted to prevent damage from nematodes. The University of California Cooperative Extension, Merced County received a grant from DPR for $74,384 for the pistachio research, and $108,433 for the almond research.

"Strawberry farmers appreciate the support of DPR in this critically-important research to try to find ways to better control soil-borne diseases and pests, which are a scourge for California farmers, consumers and the rural communities that depend on us," said Dan Legard, Vice President – Research & Education, California Strawberry Commission. "Strawberry farmers and others have invested millions of dollars in research into soil cleanser alternatives, and we welcome this continued partnership with DPR on this quest."

About the California Strawberry Commission
The California Strawberry Commission, www.californiastrawberries.com, is a state government agency representing all of California's strawberry shippers, processors and farmers. With an emphasis on food safety education, Commission activities focus on production and nutrition research, trade relations, public policy, marketing and communications. California produces more than 85 percent of all strawberries grown in the United States.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140619/119443
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140619/119444

SOURCE California Strawberry Commission