Efficacy of Brassicaceous Seed Meal Formulations for the Control of Apple Replant Disease in Conventional and Organic Production Systems

Abstract

The efficacy of brassicaceous seed meals for the control of apple replant disease and the effects of such treatments on the causal pathogen complex were examined in conventional and organic production systems. When used in conjunction with a postplant application of mefenoxam, Brassica juncea and Sinapis alba seed meal soil amendments were as effective as preplant fumigation of soil with 1,3-dichloropropene-chloropicrin in terms of disease control, tree growth, and overall fruit yields of Gala/M26. Brassica napus seed meal amendment–mefenoxam soil drench also enhanced yields in a manner comparable to preplant fumigation, but vegetative growth was intermediate between the control and fumigation treatments. When applied alone, seed meal amendments failed to enhance tree growth or control disease to the level attained in response to soil fumigation. Postplant mefenoxam treatments revealed that failure of seed meal amendments to enhance tree growth and yield when used independently was due, at least in part, to increased apple root infection by Pythium spp. in B. napus and S. alba seed meal–amended soils, and by Phytophthora cambivora in B. juncea–amended soil. As mefenoxam treatment is not compatible with organic cropping systems, a seed meal blend was formulated which, based upon biological activity, was predicted to suppress known components of the target pathogen complex without need of additional treatment. Gala/M26 trees planted in soils treated with a 1:1 ratio of B. juncea:B. napus seed meal blend performed as well in terms of disease control and vegetative growth as trees cultivated in fumigated soil at an organic-certified orchard. Because these trials utilized the highly susceptible rootstock M26, the results demonstrate that these amendments are a viable alternative to soil fumigation for the control of apple replant disease in both conventional and organic systems.