Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #366169
Research Project: Mitigating High Consequence Domestic, Exotic, and Emerging Diseases of Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals

Location: Subtropical Plant Pathology Research

Title: Thermotherapy via Aerated Steam: a Harmless Practice to Strawberry with Benefits in Disease Control

Author
item WANG, NAN-YI - University Of Florida
item Turechek, William
item PERES, NATALIA - University Of Florida

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2019
Publication Date: 8/2/2019
Citation: Wang, N., Turechek, W., Peres, N.A. 2019. Thermotherapy via Aerated Steam: a Harmless Practice to Strawberry with Benefits in Disease Control. American Phytopathological Society Abstracts. 2019.

Interpretive Summary: A thermotherapy protocol via aerated steam has been confirmed to effectively reduce or eliminate pathogens from strawberry nursery stock. However, its practical adoption is hindered in part by the fear of potential harm to strawberry plants. In this study, we conducted field trials to evaluate the effect of the current thermotherapy protocol on plant quality in several strawberry cultivars grown in Florida: Florida Beauty, Florida Brilliance, Florida Radiance, Florida 127, Strawberry Festival, and Ventana. Within each cultivar, numbers of new leaves and runners on steam-treated plants were equivalent to those on nontreated controls. Similar results were observed for flowering onset, except that steam-treated 'Strawberry Festival' showed significantly earlier flowering than the nontreated control. Fruit yields of steam-treated 'Florida Beauty' and 'Strawberry Festival' were significantly higher than their corresponding nontreated controls. Nearly all the strawberry plants, regardless of steam treatment, remained vigorous throughout the study, whereas 52% of nontreated 'Florida Radiance' collapsed, which was attributed to infection by Phytophthora species likely occurring in nurseries. Overall, our results indicated that thermotherapy via aerated steam is a safe practice for managing latent pathogens on strawberry nursery stock and can be integrated into the existing production practices to supply clean planting stock.

Technical Abstract: A thermotherapy protocol via aerated steam, including a 1 h treatment at 37°C, a 1 h cool-down, and a 4 h treatment at 44°C, has been confirmed to effectively reduce or eliminate pathogens from strawberry nursery stock. However, its practical adoption is hindered in part by the fear of potential harm to strawberry plants. In this study, we conducted field trials to evaluate the effect of the current thermotherapy protocol on plant quality in several strawberry cultivars grown in Florida: Florida Beauty, Florida Brilliance, Florida Radiance, Florida 127, Strawberry Festival, and Ventana. Within each cultivar, numbers of new leaves and runners on steam-treated plants were equivalent to those on non-treated controls. Similar results were observed for flowering onset, except that steam-treated 'Strawberry Festival' showed significantly earlier flowering than the non-treated control. Fruit yields of steam-treated 'Florida Beauty' and 'Strawberry Festival' were significantly higher than their corresponding non-treated controls. Nearly all the strawberry plants, regardless of steam treatment, remained vigorous throughout the study, whereas 52% of non-treated 'Florida Radiance' collapsed, which was attributed to infection by Phytophthora species likely occurring in nurseries. Overall, our results indicated that thermotherapy via aerated steam is a safe practice for managing latent pathogens on strawberry nursery stock and can be integrated into the existing production practices to supply clean planting stock.