Author
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Pratt, Robert |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2010 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Poultry litter (PL), a major byproduct produced in large quantities on corporate poultry farms for which new uses are needed, was evaluated for potential use as a biocontrol material against sclerotia of Sclerotium rolfsii in soil. Survival of sclerotia was evaluated following their incubation within porous membrane filters in plates containing a sandy loam soil with and without PL amendments at 4 and 8% (dry weight equivalents). Sclerotia survived and germinated at relatively high percentages (70-100%) in Control soil after 2 wk, while survival and/or germination were consistently reduced in PL-amended soils. Physical destruction of sclerotia was usually greatest with 4% PL, whereas loss of viability of recovered sclerotia was usually greatest with 8% PL. Pre-incubation of soil with PL for 2 wk prior to addition of sclerotia gave less reduction in survival than occurred without pre-incubation. Incubation of sclerotia in soil for 4 wk rather than 2 wk reduced their survival in both Control and PL-amended soils. Results indicate that PL is efficacious for biocontrol of sclerotia of S. rolfsii in soil, and they suggest that different mechanisms of biocontrol may be involved at the 4% and 8% PL concentrations in soil. |
