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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
Regional IPM Competitive Grants - Northeastern |
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Project Title:
Technology Transfer of Biologically Based Controls: Fungal Diseases of Greenhouse Tomatoes |
Project Directors (PDs):
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Lead State: NY Lead Organization: Cornell University |
| Undesignated Funding: $91,616 |
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Start Date: Sep-01-1997 End Date: Aug-31-1999 |
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Pests Involved: molds, gray mold |
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Site/Commodity: tomatoes, greenhouse, vegetables |
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Area of Emphasis: biological control, biocontrol, plant resistance |
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Summary:
The purposes of this project are 1) to develop biologically based management strategies for control of gray mold, powdery mildew, and Cladosporium leaf spot in greenhouse tomato, and 2) to produce documentary and explanatory materials, including videos, for the use of educators. This study began in conjunction with a local grower and the County Extension Educator (Carol MacNeil) in response to an epidemic in a pesticide-free tomato production greenhouse. The extension component of the proposal includes on site work, routine pruning and tying tomato plants, and harvesting tomatoes at the commercial greenhouse; demonstration of improved cultural practices; and dissemination of information about biological control. The communication of the results of the project will include Cornell Cooperative Extension publications, and outreach to growers through trade journal articles and presentations at vegetable grower and plasticulture meetings. The research component consists of specific investigations designed to deliver information for evaluation of nonpesticidal methods for management of three fungal diseases of greenhouse tomato.
Objectives: 1. To compare several formulated biological control agents, oils, and salts for management efficacy of gray mold, powdery mildew, and Cladosporium leaf spot of greenhouse tomato. In a commercial greenhouse with native inoculum, tomato plants will be treated with biological control products according to the manufacturer's instructions. * The efficacy of several products will be compared for their ability to delay the onset of disease, or reduce incidence and severity. The list of possible antagonists, elicitors of plant defense, and bio-based products is given in the Approach and Procedures section. * The increase or decrease in yield due to the products and disease will be determined. * Barcoding of individual plants will increase the efficiency and accuracy of monitoring disease progress and yield throughout the growing season. In addition, use of barcode labels on sample bags returned to the lab for analysis will increase reliability and speed of data collection. 2. Disease management strategies will be assessed at the microscopic level by identification and illustration of the mechanisms of biological control. The goal of the study is to compile a set of comparative illustrations demonstrating the effects of several products on the cell biology of tomato pathogens. Are the pathogens present suppressed, hyperparasitized, or in competition with biocontrol organisms? * With light and scanning microscopes, in vitro and in vivo, the nature of the antagonism of the most effective agents from the commercial greenhouse experiment will be determined. * The involvement of systemic acquired resistance (SAR) elicited in tomato by biological control products will be tested with plants in the Experiment Station greenhouse. 3. To examine the impact of plant disease resistance on greenhouse ecology by monitoring progress of disease complexes on susceptible and resistant tomato varieties. The natural inoculum in the commercial greenhouse will initiate disease; disease incidence and severity, pathogens present, and yield will be recorded weekly. * The weekly measurement of number of leaves infected with B. cinerea will be plotted against the number of leaves infected with Erysiphe sp. and number of leaves infected with C. oxysporum for the susceptible (Jumbo) and more tolerant (Panther) tomato varieties. A statistically significant positive correlation will indicate that the pathogens act in concert; a variety significance will tell us that general plant resistance will augment the management of these diseases for which no specific resistance in tomato is known. * Linear regression equations will be determined that attempt to explain the cumulative gray mold disease incidence and severity in terms of the cumulative powdery mildew and Cladosporium leaf spot incidence and severity. Variety differences will be investigated. * Disease progress curves for each of the three pathogens will be determined for every plant in the ecological study. Differences in disease progress in resistant and susceptible plants and in different locations of the commercial greenhouse will be analyzed. Outcomes and Impacts Summary from 2001 IPM Center report Greenhouse tomato sales exceed $15 million in the Northeast, with more than 225 facilities located both on farms and in industrial urban settings. On cloudy days, moist dark microclimates can develop under large greenhouse plants, allowing fungal diseases to flourish. One such disease is gray mold, which causes infections in the fruit and can even kill tomato plants. There are no fungicides that completely cure gray mold, nor are there any tomato varieties that can fully resist the disease. When a gray mold epidemic broke out in a commercial tomato production greenhouse, Cornell researchers tested biological control measures to increase the plant survival rate and yield per plant. They found that certain microbes can suppress the disease, increasing tomato yields by almost 2 lb. per plant compared to commercially available fungicides. In a year with cloudy spring weather, the use of beneficial microbes could increase profits by 20 percent in greenhouses where gray mold is present. Avoiding the use of chemical fungicides also creates a safer environment for the beneficial insects and bees that are used in greenhouses. The research results have been distributed to the public through fact sheets, presentations at trade shows and conferences, trade journals, and grower demonstrations. |
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