Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

Cultural practices such as tillage and crop rotation can be used as components of pest-management programs. The appropriate combination of tillage systems and crops may favor the development of beneficial microorganisms, preventing the spread of fungal pathogens. A long-term field study was carried out to analyze the effect of crop management on the abundance of actinomycetes, Trichoderma spp., and Gliocladium spp., as potential biocontrol agents (PBAs), and their relationship with the incidence of peanut root rot caused by Fusarium solani. Soil samples were taken at sowing and harvest, and root rot incidence was evaluated at harvest. There was an inverse relationship between root rot incidence peanut PBA populations under no-till suggesting a possible role of PBAs in the control of F. solani, the incidence of root rot being low under no-till and disc harrow, associated with a high concentration of potential antagonists. However, this correlation was not observed when soybean preceded peanut, when the incidence of root rot was low despite relatively lower populations of biocontrol agents present in the soil, in comparison with maize as previous crop.