Sr. Dullahide et al., THE ROLE OF NEMATODES, FUNGI, BACTERIA, AND ABIOTIC FACTORS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF APPLE REPLANT PROBLEMS IN THE GRANITE BELT OF QUEENSLAND, Australian journal of experimental agriculture, 34(8), 1994, pp. 1177-1182
Investigations of apple replant failure in the Granite Belt suggested
that the problem had a complex etiology. Soil fertility was an importa
nt factor because apple seedlings grew best in replant soils with high
levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Consistent improvement
s in the growth of apple seedlings were obtained when typical orchard
soils were treated with fenamiphos, confirming that lesion nematode wa
s also an important component of the disease complex. Pratylenchus pen
etrans had been recognised as a pathogen of apples, and pathogenicity
tests showed that P. jordanensis, another species widely distributed i
n the Granite Belt, had similar effects. Growth responses of apple see
dlings were greater when soil was pasteurised than when it was treated
with fenamiphos, suggesting that root pathogens other than nematodes
were involved in apple replant failure. However, the primary cause pro
bably differed between orchards because soils did not respond in the s
ame manner to pasteurisation and nematicide treatments. Pathogenicity
tests with 14 bacteria associated with apple roots showed no effect on
the growth of apple seedlings. However, Fusarium tricinctum, Cylindro
carpon destructans, and Pythium sp. were implicated in the problem bec
ause they were consistently recovered from discoloured roots. In a fac
torial experiment involving nematodes and fungi in pots, P. jordanensi
s, P. penetrans, F tricinctum, and C. destructans reduced the dry weig
ht of apple roots but there was no interaction between nematodes and f
ungi.