Short- and Long-Term Effects of Soil Solarization and Crop Sequence on Fusarium Wilt and Yield of Cotton in Israel

Abstract

Solarization (solar heating) of field soil by mulching with transparent polyethylene during the summer results in increased temperatures and pest control. In several fields naturally and heavily infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum, soil solarization effectively reduced the pathogen population in the soil, decreased wilt incidence in cotton plants and improved plant growth, weed control and yield. Disease incidence in the untreated plots was significantly and negatively correlated with the yield. Soil solarization depressed Fusarium wilt and increased cotton yields for as long as 3 yr after treatment. Solarized and nonsolarized infested plots were planted to susceptible G. barbadense ''Pima'' and the resistant G. hirsutum ''Acala.'' Plots planted to ''Pima'' in the 2nd cropping year had lower disease incidence and the higher yield in plots where Acala had been grown the preceding year. The beneficial effect of solarization was prolonged by this crop sequence.