الوصف:
Healthy-appearing 1-0 ponderosa and lodgepole pine seedlings were assayed for root infection
and colonization by potentially-pathogenic fungi following pre-sowing soil treatments which
included methyl bromide/chloropicrin (MBC) fumigation, fallowing with or/without periodic
cultivation, and amending soil with mushroom composts or undecomposed sawdust. Levels of
root colonization by Fusarium spp. on both conifer species were lowest in MBC-treated fields.
Fallowing, particularly without cultivation, was nearly as beneficial in reducing Fusarium root
colonization for lodgepole pine seedlings. These results correlated well with 2-0 seedling
densities in treated fields. Fusarium oxysporum was the most common colonizer of roots of
healthy seedlings as well as the most important cause of seedling disease. Continued efforts are
underway to develop satisfactory alternatives to MBC fumigation at the Lucky Peak Nursery.