Maltose and Totally Impermeable Film Enhanced Suppression of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation on Soilborne Pathogens and Increased Strawberry Yield

Anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) is widely used to control soilborne diseases in organic crop production. The effect of ASD used different sealed films on soilborne pathogens and strawberry growth was evaluated in two laboratory studies and two field trials. Under maltose as carbon sources, 28 °C temperature and 30% of soil moisture optimal conditions ASD decreased Fusarium spp. and Phytophthora spp. by 100%. ASD used maltose as an organic amendment and sealed with totally impermeable film (TIF) obtained the highest suppression (>96%) against Fusarium spp. and Phytophthora spp. (>91%). According to the laboratory results, the efficacy of ASD utilizing 6 or 9 t/ha maltose and sealing with TIF was evaluated and compared with reference treatment with chloropicrin (Pic) or solarization (Sol) in the field trials. Compared with the untreated soil, ASD treatments greatly reduced the pathogenic population of Fusarium spp. and Phytophthora spp., and successfully controlled the damage of fusarium wilt with evidence of lower mortality (6%). ASD significantly increased soil nutrition promoted plant growth and increased strawberry yield, which was similar as the Pic, but better than Sol treatment. The analyzed fungal and bacterial microbiota did not show significant differences in the taxonomic richness and diversity between the compared treatments. Nevertheless, the abundance of some bacterial and fungal taxa tended to change between treated. The evidence showed that adding maltose and sealing TIF for ASD has the potential to replace Pic for pathogen control in commercial strawberry production.