Development of biological soil disinfestations in Japan

Abstract

Biological soil disinfestations (BSDs) were developed separately in Japan and in The Netherlands as an alternative to chemical fumigations. In Japan, it was developed based on the knowledge of irrigated paddy rice and upland crop rotation system that was rather tolerant of soil-borne disease development. The methods consist of application of easily decomposable organic matter, irrigation, and covering the soil surface with plastic film, thereby inducing anaerobic (reductive) soil conditions and suppressing many soil-borne pests including fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and weeds. The methods are widely used by organic farmers in the area where residences and agricultural fields are intermingled. To note one advantage of these methods, maintenance of soil suppressiveness to Fusarium wilt of tomato was suggested, while soil treated with chloropicrin became conducive to the disease. Suppression of soil-borne fungal pathogens by BSDs might be attributed to anaerobicity and high temperature, organic acids generated, and metal ions released into soil water. Contributions of respective factors to suppression of respective pathogens might be diverse. Presumably, these factors might vary on the fungal community structure in BSD-treated soil. These factors also work in paddy fields. Therefore, the BSDs developed in Japan are probably a method to raise the efficacy of paddy-upland rotation through intensive organic matter application and through maintenance of a strongly anaerobic (reductive) soil condition.

Grafting and Paladin Pic-21 for Nematode and Weed Management in Vegetable Production

“…The soil becomes anaerobic, allowing anaerobic bacteria to flourish and produce organic acids and other antimicrobial compounds. ASD has been proven to control weeds and plant pathogens including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and oomycetes (Butler et al, 2012;Momma et al, 2013;Shennan et al, 2014). This method could also be paired with vegetable grafting to manage diseases not controlled by ASD.…”

Studies on mechanisms of anaerobicity-mediated biological soil disinfestation and its practical application

“…When bud cells were incubated in distilled water aerated with hydrogen gas, they remained viable after a 15-day incubation (Momma et al 2013). The redox potential of the water was strongly reduced and maintained at -230 mV on average during the incubation period.…”

“…Anaerobicity-mediated biological soil disinfestation (ABSD) was developed as an alternative to soil fumigation (Momma et al 2013). Numerous soil-borne pests and weeds are suppressed by this method through the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter.…”

A real-time PCR based assay as an alternative to a seedling assay to evaluate potential risk of <i>Meloidogyne incognita </i>

“…Therefore, alternative techniques not relying on synthetic chemicals, such as physical or biological soil disinfection, are attracting more and more attention. Among them, anaerobicity-mediated biological soil disinfection (ABSD) (Momma et al, 2013) using a low concentration of ethanol is becoming popular due to less of an environmental impact, lower labor cost and its effectiveness up to the subsurface soil layer (Uematsu et al, 2007). Whatever method is used, efficacy of soil disinfection on the target pests is important.…”