Continuous cropping of endangered therapeutic plants via electron beam soil-treatment and neutron tomography

Abstract

Various medicinal plants are threatened with extinction owing to their over-exploitation and the prevalence of soil borne pathogens. In this study, soils infected with root-rot pathogens, which prevent continuous-cropping, were treated with an electron beam. The level of soil-borne fungus was reduced to ≤0.01% by soil electron beam treatment without appreciable effects on the levels of antagonistic microorganism or on the physicochemical properties of the soil. The survival rate of 4-year-old plant was higher in electron beam-treated soil (81.0%) than in fumigated (62.5%), virgin (78%), or untreated-replanting soil (0%). Additionally, under various soils conditions, neutron tomography permitted the monitoring of plant health and the detection of root pathological changes over a period of 4–6 years by quantitatively measuring root water content in situ. These methods allow continual cropping on the same soil without pesticide treatment. This is a major step toward the environmentally friendly production of endangered therapeutic herbs.

Advances in Irradiation Technology for Plant Disease Resistance: A Review

“…It is a nonthermal process that does not affect the nutritional value or taste of food which can also be used to treat food and food ingredients to kill microbial pathogens, or in higher doses (Jeong and Jeong, 2018). Furthermore, electron beam treatment combined with antagonistic biological control can be used as a novel sterilization method to prevent replanting diseases in culture soils used for continuous cultivation (Sim et al, 2018). Electron beam (E-beam) irradiation offers several benefits for controlling plant diseases.…”

Bioactivity Profiling and Quantification of Gastrodin in Gastrodia elata Cultivated in the Field versus Facility via Hyphenated High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

“…Unfortunately, overexploitation of the plant in the native regions has placed G. elata on lists of endangered species [ 24 ]. Its cultivation and growth are difficult and often hindered by the presence of pathogenic fungi in the soil that can cause root rot, which also makes the use of pesticides necessary in some cases to avoid the loss of the plants or to allow the reuse of the same soil multiple times [ 25 , 26 ]. The alternative of using new soil for each cultivation cycle is not sustainable and increases costs; therefore, innovative techniques of removing pathogens that allow soil reuse are of great value.…”

“…In this study, soil treatment with an electron beam, which removes the pathogenic fungi, but at the same time allows beneficial bacteria to thrive and promote plant growth [ 25 ], was applied to the cultivation of G. elata. The cultivation facility using the treated soil was adapted from that used for P. ginseng, and G. elata samples were harvested after two years in different time intervals.…”

“…The alternative of using new soil for each cultivation cycle is not sustainable and increases costs; therefore, innovative techniques of removing pathogens that allow soil reuse are of great value. Electron beam treatment has 2 of 14 been successfully used in the cultivation of Panax ginseng, with much higher root survival (81%) compared to that in the untreated reused soil (0%) and a similar rate to that in the virgin soil (78%) as well as comparable levels of ginsenosides in both cases [25].…”