Soil disinfestation with cruciferous amendments and sublethal heating: effects on Meloidogyne incognita, Sclerotium rolfsii and Pythium ultimum

Controlled environment experiments were carried out to test the effects of amending soil with fresh and dried residues of certain cultivated and noncu ltivated cruciferous plants, including Brassica nigra, B. oleracea var, chi nensis, B. oleracea var, italiensis, B. oleracea var. capitata B. oleracea var. compacta and Raphanus sativus; and of a sublethal soil heating regime (38 degrees C day/27 degrees C night) on survival and activity of nematode and fungal plant pathogens including Meloidogyne incognita, Sclerotium rolf sii and Pythium ultimum. Addition of the various cruciferous amendments to soil without heating resulted in significantly reduced tomato root galling (38-100%) by M. incognita or reduced recovery of active fungal pathogens (0 -100%) after 7 days incubation. When cruciferous soil amendments were combi ned with the sublethal heating regime, nematode galling was reduced by 95-1 00%, and recovery of active fungi was reduced by 85-100%. No differences we re found between fresh or dried cruciferous residues.