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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #375202
Research Project: Mitigating High Consequence Domestic, Exotic, and Emerging Diseases of Fruits, Vegetables, and Ornamentals

Location: Subtropical Plant Pathology Research

Title: The use of aerated steam as a heat treatment for managing angular leaf spot in strawberry nursery production and its effect on plant yield

Author
item Turechek, William
item MYHRENE, OLE - Retired Non ARS Employee
item Slovin, Janet
item PERES, NATALIA - University Of Florida

Submitted to: PhytoFrontiers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/27/2020
Publication Date: 12/9/2020
Citation: Turechek, W., Myhrene, O., Slovin, J.P., Peres, N. 2020. The use of aerated steam as a heat treatment for managing angular leaf spot in strawberry nursery production and its effect on plant yield. PhytoFrontiers. 1:104-119. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-08-20-0012-R.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTOFR-08-20-0012-R

Interpretive Summary: Xanthomonas fragariae, the causal agent of angular leaf spot (ALS) of strawberry, can be found routinely on strawberry nursery stock. Heat treatment has been shown previously to be an effective treatment for managing ALS on nursery stock in small-scale experimental trials. A commercial-scale precision thermotherapy unit (PTU) was built and a new thermotherapeutic protocol was tested on strawberry nursery stock. Several trials were conducted in cooperation with commercial nurseries to determine the impact of thermotherapy on plant health and on the natural development of ALS. Overall, precision thermotherapy had a negligible effect on plant growth and yield. Angular leaf spot, when it occurred, was always lower in thermotherapy-treated plots. Successfully scaling-up thermal treatment of nursery stock to commercial levels could have a unique impact on controlling pests and diseases while simultaneously reducing or eliminating pesticide use against a broad range of threats to sustainable strawberry production.

Technical Abstract: Xanthomonas fragariae, the causal agent of angular leaf spot (ALS) of strawberry, can be found routinely on strawberry nursery stock. Heat treatment has been shown previously to be an effective treatment for managing ALS on nursery stock in small-scale experimental trials. The objective of this research was to design, build and trial a commercial-scale precision thermotherapy unit (PTU) and to test a new thermotherapeutic protocol on strawberry nursery stock that combined a conditioning thermal treatment with an eradicative thermal treatment. Several trials were conducted in cooperation with commercial nurseries to determine the impact of thermotherapy on plant health and on the natural development of ALS. Overall, precision thermotherapy had a negligible effect on plant growth and yield. Angular leaf spot, when it occurred, was always lower in thermotherapy-treated plots. Successfully scaling-up thermal treatment of nursery stock to commercial levels could have a unique impact on controlling pests and diseases while simultaneously reducing or eliminating pesticide use against a broad range of threats to sustainable strawberry production.