Is disease induced by flooding representative of nursery conditions in rhododendrons infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi or P. plurivora?

Abstract

The degree of flooding commonly used to induce disease in Phytophthora root rot studies rarely occurs in container nurseries. Instead, over-irrigation and poor drainage result in plants periodically sitting in shallow pools of water. Rhododendron plants were grown in a noninfested substrate or substrate infested with Phytophthora cinnamomi or P. plurivora to determine whether root rot induced by flooding represents disease that occurs under simulated nursery conditions when plants are in a shallow pool of water (saucers) or are allowed to freely drain and maintained at ~ 75% container capacity (75% CC). Generally, P. cinnamomi caused more disease than P. plurivora and all water treatments were conducive to root rot. In experiment 1, the amount of disease due to flooding was similar to that in the saucer treatment (75% CC not tested) while in experiment 2, flooding often caused more rapid and severe disease than the saucer or 75% CC treatment. Pathogens differed in their response to water treatments. P. cinnamomi caused more disease in treatments with >90% substrate moisture for either a short (flood) or long duration (saucer), while P. plurivora was less capable of causing disease when soil moisture was maintained >90% than when substrate moisture was maintained at a more moderate level (flood, 75% CC). Our results indicate that it is not necessary to flood plants to induce disease under experimental conditions and that disease induced by flooding can represent disease in container nurseries when containers are in pools of water or maintained at ~75% CC. In addition, our results suggest that P. cinnamomi is a more aggressive pathogen than P. plurivora in nursery conditions where drainage is poor; however, both species are capable of causing a similar amount of disease under more typical irrigation management.