Gelatin encapsulation of chloropicrin and 1,3-dichloropropene as fumigants for soilborne diseases in the greenhouse cultivation of cucumber and tomato

Combined use of chloropicrin （Pic） and 1,3-dicloropropene （1,3-D） is as effective as methyl bromide （MB） at controlling soilborne diseases in many trials and commercial uses. However, Pic and 1,3-D are both highly volatile and may pose strong exposure risks to humans and the environment. A gelatin capsule formulation containing Pic and 1,3-D has been developed to reduce exposure risks to workers and bystanders and improved application safety. We conducted two experiments in tomato and cucumber greenhouses located in Beijing and Qingdao, China, to study the efficacy of Pic plus 1,3-D gelatin capsules applied at different dosages and soil depths. Results indicated that both injection and gelatin capsules of Pic plus 1,3-D provided good control of soil nematodes and reduced disease index of Fusarium wilt and root-knot nematode. Plant yield of tomato and cucumber treated with gelatin capsules was similar to MB treatment. Based on our results, gelatin capsules applied at a soil depth of 15 cm provided better control of soilborne diseases and led to higher fruit yield compared to an application depth of 5 cm. In conclusion, a gelatin capsule of Pic plus 1,3-D is a promising and novel formulation, which not only shows good efficacy in controlling soilborne diseases, but also reduces potential exposure risks of fumigants.

Impact of Soil Fumigation Practices on Soil Nematodes and Microbial Biomass

This study was designed to understand the impact of methyl bromide (MB) (CH3Br) and its alternatives on both free-living and root-knot nematodes in the soil. A randomized complete block experiment with six treatments and 4 replicates (each replicate in a separate greenhouse) was established in Qingzhou, Shandong Province, China. In addition to MB and untreated control (CK) treatments there were four alternative soil fumigation practices including MB+virtually impermeable films (VIF), metam sodium (MS), MS +VIF and soil solarization combined with selected biological control agents (SS+BCA). Two tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) cultivars, cv. Maofen-802 from the Xian Institute of Vegetable Science, China, and cv. AF179 Brillante from the Israeli Hazera Quality Seeds, were selected as test crops. The results indicated that Rhabditidae was the most dominant population with percentage abundance as high as 85% of the total number of identified free-living nematodes, followed by that of Cephalobidae. Methyl bromide and its alternatives except for the non-chemical SS+BCA treatment controlled the target pest, root-knot nematodes. Also, the impact of the three chemical alternatives on free-living nematode number and functional group abundance was similar to the impact associated with a typical methyl bromide application. Chemical fumigation practices, especially that with MB, significantly reduced the number of nematodes in the soil and simultaneously significantly reduced the number of nematode genera thereby reducing nematode diversity. All the four soil chemical fumigation activities decreased soil microbial biomass and had an obvious initial impact on microorganism biomass. Furthermore, both plant-parasitic and fungivore nematodes were positively correlated with soil microbial biomass.

Application of the combination of 1,3-dichloropropene and dimethyl disulfide by soil injection or chemigation: effects against soilborne pests in cucumber in China

The combination of 1,3-dichloropropene＋dimethyl disulfide （1,3-D＋DMDS）, which forms a pre-plant soil fumigant, can provide a substitute for the environmentally unfriendly methyl bromide （MB）. Three greenhouse trials were performed to evaluate the root-knot nematode and soilborne fungi control efficacy in the suburbs of Beijing in China in 2010-2014. Randomized blocks with three replicates were designed in each trial. The combination of 1,3-D＋DMDS （10＋30 g m-2） significantly controlled Meloidogyne incognita, effectively suppressed the infestation of Fusarium oxysporum and Phytophthora spp., and successfully provided high commercial fruit yields （equal to MB but higher than 1,3-D or DMDS）. The fumigant soil treatments were significantly better than the untreated controls. These results indicate that 1,3-D＋DMDS soil treatments can be applied by soil injection or chemigation as a promising MB alternative against soilborne pests in cucumber in China.

Effect of Ammonium Fixation on Determination of N Mineralized from Soil Microbial Biomass

Two soils with relatively high (Soil 1) and low (Soil 2) ammonium fixation capacities were used in thisstudy to extalne the effect of ammonium fixation on the determination of N mineralised from soil ndcrobialbiomass. organism suspellsioll was quantitatively introduced to Soil 1 at various rates. Both fumigation-incubation (FI) and fumigation-ext raction (FE ) met hods were used to t reat t he soil. The amount of ffeedNH4+-N increased with increasing rate of organism-N addition. A close correlation was found between theamoun of fixed aznmonium and the rate of organism-N addition. The net increso of fixed NH4+-N wereequivalent to 38% and 12% of the added organism-N for FI and FE treatments, respectively in this specificsoil. To provide isotopic evidence, 15N-labelled organism-N was added to Soils 1 and 2 at 121.4 mg N kg-1.In FI treatment, 22 and 3 mg N kg-1 of labelled N were found in the fraction of fixed NH4+-N in Soils 1 and2 respectively; while in FE treatment, 9 mg N kg-1 of labelled N was found in the fraction of fixed NH4+-Nin Soil 1 only. There was no labelled N in the fraction of fixed NH4+-N in Soil 2. In all of the unfumigated(check) soils, there was little or no labelled N in the fixed fractions, probably because the organism-N addedwas easily mineralized and nitrified. A mean of 0.64 for KN value, the fraction of N ndneralized in the killedmicrobial biomass, was obtained with inclusion of the net increase of fixed NH4+-N. The corresponding valuecalculated with exclusion of the net increase of fixed NH4+-N was 0.46. It was concluded that ammniumfixation was a problem in determination of KN, particularly for soils with a high ammonium fixation capacity.Results also showed that microbial biomass N measurement by FE method was less affected by ammoniumprocess than that by FI method.