Location: Vegetable Research
Project Number: 6080-22000-031-034-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2023
End Date: Aug 31, 2024
Objective:
The long term goal of this project is to improve the productivity and profitability of organic vegetable production by developing organic fertilizer formulations from new organic materials from manure processing and rendered materials (RMs), for higher nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD: soil disinfestation by creating anaerobic condition with organic carbon amendments and irrigation under plastic mulch) for weed and soil borne disease management.
Approach:
Field studies will be conducted to determine the effect of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation (ASD) on the Fusarium wilt causing pathogen of watermelon. Dairy manure developed using dissolved air flotation (DAF) technique along with ammendments that regulate such manure will be added at varying rates to the soil and plant beds will be prepared. The beds will be covered with novel plastic mulch that will help create the anaerobic conditions necessary to create ASD conditions. Once ASD is completed that pathogen population in the soil will be determined. Resistant and susceptible watermelon genotypes will be planted and disease development will be recorded. The data will be analyzed using appropriate statistical technique.
