Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is high tunnel vegetable growers in the Midwest, Northeastern and Southern United States. Most of these growers have smallvegetable farms with many different crops produced. Growers usually have at least one high tunnel with tomato being their primary cropbut often have more than one tunnel. Crop consultants, plant disease diagnosticians, and Extension educators are also target audiences for educational materials developed in this study. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One masters student (Manisha Hamal) who graduated in Autumn 2024 was trained through this project at Ohio State, co-advised by PD Miller and co-PD Testen. This project is partially training one graduate student at Virginia Tech. At Ohio State, two undergraduate interns helped with trial setup and soil sampling. In Pennsylvania, the project engaged 2 graduate students, 6 undergraduate students, 2 research technicians, and three Extension educators. Trainees had the opportunity to learn how to implement the ASD treatment, how to set-up and deploy data-loggers and relative soil sensors used to monitor soil temperature, soil redox potential, ho to collect soil samples and process those to determine soil pH, EC, and mineral content, as well as soilborne pests and pathogens. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of our research activities were presented to communities of interest during Horse Progress Days (https://horseprogressdays.com/) and during Penn State's Ag Progress Days (https://agsci.psu.edu/apd). Horse Progress Days is an event attended by Amish and Mennonite communities gathering from across the US and other countries. Each day of the event we had the opportunity to present and demonstrate ASD, providing a printed factsheet with instructions on how to apply ASD. The presentations were attended by Amish and Mennonite growers and two of the attendees reached out to us later requesting assistance for the application of ASD on their farm. Penn State Ag Progress Days is an annual event held in August at the Penn State Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Each of the three days of this event, we offered a 1-hour tour of our research site presenting ASD as a biological solution to manage soilborne pests and pathogens. For the three tours, there were 53 participants, including growers, agricultural professionals, master gardeners, and community members. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to: 1) Complete the analysis of the soil samples and publish the results of the research conducted over two growing seasons on fresh-market high tunnel tomatoes 2) Continue monitoring soil and crop performance foron-farm trials and provide assistance to other tomato high tunnel growers interested to implement ASD on their farm. 3) Conduct additional extension activities, presentations, andfactsheet development
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Soilborne disease survey The results of the soilborne disease survey were summarized and a manuscript was submitted to Plant Health Progress. The manuscript was accepted with revisions and was resubmitted for full acceptance. Hamal, M., Roman, C., Ivey, M.L.L., Miller, S.A., Gugino, B.K., Testen, A.L. Prevalence of Soilborne Pathogens in High Tunnel Tomato Production in Ohio and Nearby States. Plant Health Progress. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-01-25-0004-S Objective 2: Soil fertility recommendations for anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) For Pennsylvania during the reporting period, laboratory analysis of soil and plant tissue samples collected during the previous reporting period were completed and subject to statistical analysis. PSU completed analysis of fruit tomato samples and hasair-dried soil samples collected from the last on-station ASD trial. PSU has worked on organizing and analyzing data. The second trial year for assessing the impacts of ASD of soil fertility was conducted on the OSU Wooster Campus from October 2023-September 2024. Soil samples still need to be processed for Ohio and Pennsylvania trials. Objective 3: Evaluate ASD through on-farm trials Four Ohio on-farm ASD trials were established in fall 2023 in Holmes, Highland, Greene, and Cuyahoga counties. Soils were collected from trials immediately after ASD treatment and tomato 'Moneymaker' was planted in these soils to assess the impacts of ASD on root disease and crop growth. Based on these bioassays, root biomass increased significantly following ASD treatments, but root rot severity was unaffected, likely due to low soil temperatures during the ASD treatment. Tomatoes were planted in these trials in spring 2024. Soil sample processing and data analysis need to be completed for these trials. In Pennsylvania, ASD on-farm demonstrations were carried out on two conventional fresh-market tomato farms located in Lancaster County. These farms were selected among other visited primarily because they experienced specific soilborne pest and pathogen issues and encompassed distinct agricultural settings: 1) the first fresh-market tomato high tunnel farm was affected by Verticillium wilt; and 2) the second fresh-market tomato production in high tunnel, with crop affected by Meloidogyne javanica root-knot nematodes. Each on-farm demonstration required multiple farm visits, and the ASD application spanned an entire day and was designed to implement ASD providing in-depth instructions about the application and importance of ASD. During the first visit to each farm we provided educational material, discussed with the grower the entire ASD application process. After sourcing all the material we implemented ASD on the pre-defined date, and after implementing the ASD treatment re-visited each farm to monitor the soil redox potential. Following our instructions, one of the growers was able to build a custom-made system to efficiently apply molasses diluted with water. The efficacy of ASD in controlling plant-parasitic nematodes was verified, while we were not able to verify the efficacy of ASD against Verticillium wilt. Two additional farms (one in Pennsylvania affected by general soil tiredness, and one in Virginia affected by Bacterial wilt) were assisted in implementing ASD from a distance. Objective 4: Grower education on soilborne diseases Researchers from USDA-ARS, Penn State and Virginia Tech all presented on ASD to grower communities. One talk was given by Anna Testen, USDA-ARS,to growers associated with Perennia, an independent extension agency in Nova Scotia, Canada, reaching 33 attendees. The results of our research activities were presented to communities of interest during Horse Progress Days (https://horseprogressdays.com/) and during Penn State's Ag Progress Days (https://agsci.psu.edu/apd). Horse Progress Days is an event attended by Amish and Mennonite communities gathering from across the US and other countries. Each day of the event we had the opportunity to present and demonstrate ASD, providing a printed factsheet with instructions on how to apply ASD. The presentations were attended by Amish and Mennonite growers and two of the attendees reached out to us later requesting assistance for the application of ASD on their farm. Penn State Ag Progress Days is an annual event held in August at the Penn State Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Each of the three days of this event, we offered a 1-hour tour of our research site presenting ASD as a biological solution to manage soilborne pests and pathogens. For the three tours, there were 53 participants, including growers, agricultural professionals, master gardeners, and community members.
Publications
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Hamal, M., Roman, C., Ivey, M.L.L., Miller, S.A., Gugino, B.K., Testen, A.L. 2025. Prevalence of soilborne pathogens in high tunnel tomato production in Ohio and nearby states. Plant Health Progress. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHP-01-25-0004-S
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Di Gioia F., Balaguer R., Pierre F., Morrison B., Ono-Raphel J., Passerini L., Vecchia L., Demchak K., Roman C., Schmidt C., Gugino B., Elkner T., Hong J.C., Dini-Andreote F., Rosskopf E. Optimizing the Application of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation to High Tunnel Vegetable Production Systems in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region. X Intern. Symposium on Soil & Substrate Disinfestation. In press [Accepted May 9, 2024].
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Di Gioia F. Hong J.C., Desaeger J., Arrington K., Dini-Andreote F., Zhao X., Schmidt C., Gao Z., Balaguer R., Ono-Raphel J., Morrison B., Moreira Calix D., Xu N., Fronk L., Ford T., Elkner T., Goodiel Y., Rotindo K., Formiga A., Demchak K., Gugino B., Kaye J., Rosskopf E. Advancing Organic Amendment-based Soil Management Approaches: A Paradigm Shift from Soil Disinfestation to Nourishing Soil Health. X Intern. Symposium on Soil & Substrate Disinfestation. In press [Accepted May 9, 2024].
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is high tunnel vegetable growers in the Midwest, Northeastern and Southern United States. Most of these growers have small, highly diversified vegetable farms.Crop consultants and Extension educators are also target audiences for educational materials developed in this study. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student (Manisha Hamal) is being trained through this project at Ohio State and is co-advised by PD Miller and co-PD Testen. This project is partially training two graduate students and two visiting scholars (F. Pierre and L. Passerini) at Penn State. This project is partially training one graduate student at Virginia Tech. In addition, a fall intern undergraduate student assisted with soil sampling in 2023. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The fourth objective of our project focused on grower outreach and education. A full list of Extension presentations and research seminars is listed in the "Other Products" section. Researchers from USDA-ARS, Penn State and Virginia Tech all presented on ASD to grower communities. One talk was given that the 2022 Great Lakes Expo, three talks at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable conference, 17 talks at regional Extension meetings, three academic seminars and two talks at the 2023 X International Symposium on Soil and Substrate Disinfestation. These presentations reached nearly 1,200 attendees. Steve Rideout (Virginia Tech) and his group have presented information on ASD at several grower meetings since the inception of this grant. To date, ASD has been shared with stakeholders at 15 meetings with an attendance totaling 447 (4 in 2023, with 122 attendees). The Virginia Tech team produced an extension publication on ASD (https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/SPES/SPES-326/SPES-326.html). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the next year of the reporting period, on-farm mother and baby trials will be completed. Tomatoes grown in these trials will be assessed for plant health parameters and soil samples collected to assess soil fertility and health. We will continue our Extension efforts.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Soilborne disease survey Ohio State and USDA-ARS repeated the soil survey and collected 113 high tunnel soil samples on 42 farms from 11 states (IL, IN, KY, MA, ME, MI, MD, MN, NH, OH, and VT). The majority of samples were from Ohio. Pseudopyrenochaeta spp. were detected in 55% of high tunnels and 64% of farms. Colletotrichum coccodes was detected in 80% of high tunnels on 93% of farms. Verticillium dahliae was detected in 61% of high tunnels on 83% of farms. Root-knot nematodes were detected in 58% of high tunnels on 86% of farms. Diagnostic reports and management recommendations were provided to all soil survey participants. A total of 35 samples were collected in Virginia in 2022 with 13 showing root-knot nematode levels over threshold. Objective 2: Soil fertility recommendations for anaerobic soil disinfestation The high tunnel study to assess ASD impacts on soil fertility that conducted in Pennsylvania was repeated for the second season. The trial was established at the high tunnel facilities of the Horticulture Research Farm at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, located at Rock Springs, PA in April 2023. The experiment was conducted in a 30×96 ft movable high tunnel. Treatments were applied to raised beds. Treatments were arranged according to an augmented factorial experimental design (split-plot experimental design) with four replicates. Treatments are an untreated control, a chicken manure control, wheat midds, wheat midds + chicken manure, molasses, molasses plus chicken manure, soybean meal + wheat midds, and soybean meal + wheat midds + chicken manure. Application rates for each amendment were defined based on the total C and total N concentration determined by submitting samples to the Penn State Ag Analytical Lab. Treatments without chicken manure received the full rate of C source and were balanced to apply a total of 6,000 kg/ha of C, while treatments with chicken manure received half-rate of the C-source and were balanced with an N-source to reach a total of 350 kg/ha of N. During the treatment, data on high tunnel air temperature, relative humidity, PAR solar radiation, soil temperature, soil redox potential and soil moisture were recorded. Tomatoes 'Red Deuce' were planted in May of 2023, 4 weeks after the ASD treatment application. Soil sampling was conducted at 20-cm depth before the treatment application; post-treatment application during and after the ASD treatment application; and post-planting every 3 weeks. Soil samples collected in post-treatment were used to measure the following parameters: pH, EC and nitrate levels and organic acids. Biometric assessments were conducted twice during the growing season measuring the fresh and dry biomass of one plant per experimental unit. Leaf, stem and fruit biomass was determined separately, and oven-dried material will be milled and analyzed for total N, macro and micro-nutrient content. Leaf chlorophyll content has been measured over the growing season. Fruit yield data was collected on 5 plants per experimental unit weekly. Single fruits are harvested weekly as they are developing the red color and are sorted in marketable and unmarketable fruit. Marketable fruits were divided into size categories according to USDA standards. A sample of 5-6 representative fruit are used for fruit quality assessments determining the fruit dry matter content, brix and acidity, and pH. Trial data are being summarized and analyzed. The same research trial was established in a high tunnel on the Ohio State Wooster Campus during October 2022. Tomato 'Red Deuce' was planted in spring 2023 and all soil, fruit, and yield components were assessed as in the PA trial. Soil and plant sample processing are in progress. A repetition of this trial was established on the OSU-Wooster campus in October 2023. Objective 3: Evaluate ASD through on-farm trials Based on survey data collected from previous years and through grower communications, two additional Pennsylvania farms were selected to conduct on-farm ASD trials. These trials were aimed at assessing the efficacy of ASD for the management of C. coccodes, P. terrestris/lycopersici and root knot nematodes. Bioassay tomato plants (cv. Moneymaker) were grown from field soil samples collected before and after ASD treatment. After growing the plants for six weeks both the tap root (on a scale of 1 healthy to 5 necrotic) and fibrous root rot (%) were recorded and the four pieces of symptomatic tap root and fibrous roots were plated on ½ PDA+. Conventional PCRs for C. coccodes and P. terrestris/lycopersici have been run and the nematode count from one farm were conducted. On one farm prior to ASD treatment, the bioassay tomato plants developed symptoms of root rot on 25 to 50% of the fibrous roots but very little on the tap root. Post-ASD, untreated plants developed symptoms on 30 to 40% of the fibrous root and had some discoloration on the tap root compared to the ASD-treated plots which had symptoms on 10 to 15% of the fibrous root systems and healthy asymptomatic tap roots. Despite visible reductions in root rot symptom severity, C. coccodes was able to be isolated from the majority of plants and was also detected using PCR. Work is currently being done to optimize a developed qPCR method to allow for quantification of the C. coccodes population. P. lycopersici and P. terrestris were neither isolated nor detected at this site location. Nematode populations were not quantified at the site however, root galling was not observed on any bioassay plants pre-ASD treatment. For the second farm in Lancaster Co., pre-ASD bioassay tomato plants all had healthy tap roots and only 10 to 20% of the fibrous roots showed symptoms of root rot. However, C. coccodes was isolated from 87.5% of the plants. Also interesting, 3 of the 8 bioassay tomato plants developed root knot nematode galling (10, 35 and 60% of the root system). Post-ASD treatment bioassay plants are currently growing and have not been evaluated. Nematode counts were performed on 100 g composite soil samples collected from the treatment plots. For ASD-treated plots, the number of juveniles decreased while the numbers in the untreated block increased. Soil PCR detected the presence of C. coccodes both before and after ASD treatment. P. lycopersici was detected in one sample before treatment and in one untreated sample after treatment but was not isolated from the bioassay plants. Two on-farm ASD trials were established in fall 2022 in Richland and Holmes counties, Ohio. Soils were collected from trials immediately after ASD treatment and tomato 'Moneymaker' was planted in these soils to assess the impacts of ASD on root disease and crop growth. Based on these bioassays, root biomass increased significantly following ASD treatments, but root rot severity was unaffected, likely due to low soil temperatures during the ASD treatment. Tomatoes were planted in these trials in spring 2023. Soil sample processing and data analysis are underway for these trials. Eight grower collaborators were identified to conduct demonstration trials on their Ohio farms and supplies were delivered to them before the conclusion of the reporting period. An additional four grower collaborators in Holmes, Highland, Greene, and Cuyahoga counties were identified for establishment of ASD on-farm trials in fall 2023, and these trials were established right after conclusion of this reporting period. Objective 4: Grower education on soilborne diseases Researchers from USDA-ARS, Penn State and Virginia Tech all presented on ASD to grower communities. One talk was given that the 2022 Great Lakes Expo, three talks at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable conference, 17 talks at regional Extension meetings, three academic seminars and two talks at the 2023 X International Symposium on Soil and Substrate Disinfestation. These presentations reached nearly 1,200 attendees.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Rosskopf, E. N., & Di Gioia, F. 2023. New Approaches to Soil Disinfestation in Specialty Crops. In Wade H. Elmer, Margaret McGrath, Robert J. McGovern (Eds.), Plant Disease Management. Handbook of Vegetable and Herb Diseases (pp. 36). Cham: Springer. Peer-reviewed/refereed. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-35512-8_12-1, ISBN/ISSN: 2509-4823 https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-35512-8_12-1
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Di Gioia, F., Balaguer, R. M., & Passerini, L. 2023. Soil Fertility Management Post Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation in a Tomato High Tunnel Production Systems. 2023 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Proceedings. (pp. 13-14). Richfield, PA: Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Testen, A.L. 2023. Detecting and combating hidden diseases in high tunnel tomato production. 2023 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Proceedings. Richfield, PA: Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Testen, A.L., Shaw, R.S., Rotondo, F., Moodispaw, M.R., Miller, S.A. 2023. A quantitative PCR method to detect the tomato corky root rot pathogens, Pseudopyrenochaeta lycopersici and Pseudopyrenochaeta terrestris. Plant Disease 107: 2673-2678
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is high tunnel vegetable growers in the Midwest, Northeastern and Southern United States. Crop consultants and Extension educators are also target audiences for educational materials developed in this study. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student (Manisha Hamal) is being trained through this project at Ohio State and is co-advised by PD Miller and co-PD Testen. This project is partially training two graduate students and one visiting scholar at Penn State. This project is partially training one graduate student at Virginia Tech. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The fourth objective of our project focused on grower outreach and education. Ohio State and USDA-ARS research participants presented a poster on high tunnel soilborne diseases in Ohio at the MidOhio Growers Meeting in January 2021. Posters on high tunnel soilborne diseases were also posted at six produce auctions in Ohio. Anna Testen (USDA-ARS) shared information on soilborne diseases at two crop walks with Amish growers (approximately 150 participants). Testen collaborated with Central State University to create a virtual workshop on anaerobic soil disinfestation and soilborne diseases that has been posted on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7klEVwMGUM). Testen also was interviewed for a Vegetable Beet Podcast on ASD sponsored by the Great Lakes Vegetable Producers Network (https://share.transistor.fm/s/ab280350 ). Testen also co-authored a trade article on ASD for the Vegetable Growers News (Phillips, B., Testen, A., Filbrun, B. 2022. Tunnel Trouble? Hoop house help is on the way. Vegetable Growers News. 56, 8: 14-15) Beth Gugino presented three extension talks on soilborne diseases to vegetable growers in Pennsylvania (124 participants). •Gugino, B.K. Vegetable disease update. July 28, 2022. Kutztown Production Auction Meeting, Kutztown Produce Auction, Fleetwood, PA. (80 participants). •Lauritzen, E. and Gugino, B.K. Just below the surface: Root-knot nematode in high tunnel tomatoes. February 17, 2022. Penn State Extension Vegetable and Small Fruit Pesticide Update. University Park, PA. (24 participants). •Gugino, B.K. and Lauritzen, E. A survey of soilborne pathogens in Pennsylvania high tunnel tomatoes. February 3, 2022. Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey, PA. (60 participants). Steve Rideout (Virginia Tech) and his group have presented information on ASD at several grower meetings since the inception of this grant. To date, ASD has been shared with stakeholders at 11 meetings with an attendance totaling 325. The Virginia Tech team produced an extension publication on ASD (https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/SPES/SPES-326/SPES-326.html) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Soil samples are being collected for the final round of the high tunnel soilborne disease survey in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Tomatoes will be grown in the Ohio ASD fertility trial and the Pennsylvania ASD fertility trial will be repeated in Spring 2023. Grower outreach and education activities will continue. The major goal of the next reporting period is to establish on-farm ASD trials using the mother and baby trial design.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 Goal: Soilborne disease survey Surveys of high tunnel soilborne diseases were completed in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The target pathogens in these surveys were Pseudopyrenochaeta spp. (corky root rot), Colletotrichum coccodes (black dot root rot), Verticillium dahliae (Verticillium wilt), and root-knot nematodes. Soil samples were tested with PCR to detect Pseudopyrenochaeta spp., C. coccodes, and V. dahliae, while bioassays were conducted by growing tomatoes in high tunnel soil samples to assess root rot severity and root-knot nematodes. Pennsylvania samples were also sent to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to assess nematodes present. In Ohio, soil samples were obtained from 62 high tunnels and 22 farms in 10 Ohio counties and two Michigan counties. For Ohio, Pseudopyrenochaeta spp. were found on 72% of farms and 66% of high tunnels. C. coccodes was found on 86% of farms and 80% of high tunnels. V. dahliae was identified on 81% of farms and 87% of high tunnels, while root-knot nematodes were detected on 90% of farms and 77% of high tunnels. All four pathogens were present in 26 high tunnels. In Pennsylvania, a total of 29 high tunnels on 18 unique farms were surveyed to assess for potential soilborne pathogens. PCR assays were conducted for 17 of the 29 high tunnels (six high tunnels for sampled only for nematode assessment and soils from the remaining six were misplaced prior to conducting the soil PCR assay). Of the 17 high tunnels, 94% were positive for C. coccodes and 64.7% were positive for Pseudopyrenochaeta spp. Verticillium dahliae was detected in 87.5% of the high tunnels tested (14 of the 16 tested). Nine high tunnels on eight farms were positive for all three fungal pathogens. Soil nematode assessments were conducted on soil subsamples by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture for all 29 Pennsylvania high tunnels. Root knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) were determined to be at crop damaging and possible crop damaging levels in 12 and 10 high tunnels, respectively. Other nematode genera identified but not considered to be damaging to tomato include dagger, lesion, ring, spiral and stunt. Of the nine high tunnels where all three fungal pathogens were detected, four and three also had populations of root knot nematode that were at crop damaging or possibly damaging levels as well. Over the course of the reporting period, 28 different high tunnels were sampled for nematodes from 7 different counties within Virginia (samples taken in Oct.-Dec., 2021). Of these, only 2 were found to have root-knot nematode levels above the economic threshold. These high tunnels had been in production for seven and eight years with mostly tomato in the cropping history. Soil samples from these high tunnels were also processed for soil fertility and these results were provided to growers. Unfortunately, soil samples from 2021 were lost over the winter due to an issue with cold storage resulting in a period where the soil was wet and soil boxes were ruptured. A total of 35 samples have been collected in Virginia in 2022 for processing over the winter of 2022-2023. Objective 2 Goal: Soil fertility recommendations for anaerobic soil disinfestation Our goal is to evaluate the effects of alternative carbon (C) sources on nutrient dynamics and availability during and post-ASD application on a fresh-market tomato crops grown in high tunnels under Pennsylvania and Ohio environmental conditions. A high tunnel trial was established at the high tunnel facilities of the Horticulture Research Farm at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, located at Rock Springs, PA in April 2022. The experiment was conducted in a 30×96 ft movable high tunnel covered with a double layer polyethylene film and with automated side and ridge-vent opening. Treatments were applied to raised beds set 7 ft apart center to center. Amendments were applied on top of false beds and incorporated in the soil with a rototiller. Molasses was diluted 1:1 with water. Plots were 9 ft long and 3 ft wide. Treatments were arranged according to an augmented factorial experimental design (split-plot experimental design) with four replicates. Treatments are an untreated control, a chicken manure control, wheat midds, wheat midds + chicken manure, molasses, molasses plus chicken manure, soybean meal + wheat midds, and soybean meal + wheat midds + chicken manure. Application rates for each amendment were defined based on the total C and total N concentration determined by submitting samples to the Penn State Ag Analytical Lab. Treatments without chicken manure received the full rate of C source and were balanced to apply a total of 6,000 kg/ha of C, while treatments with chicken manure received half-rate of the C-source and were balanced with an N-source to reach a total of 350 kg/ha of N. During the treatment, data on high tunnel air temperature, relative humidity, PAR solar radiation, soil temperature, soil redox potential and soil moisture were recorded. Tomatoes 'Red Deuce' were planted on May 9, 2022, 27 days after the ASD treatment application. Soil sampling was conducted at 20-cm depth before the treatment application (one composite sample per block); post-treatment (collecting 7-8 cores per experimental unit) application at 3, 7, 14, 21, and 27 days after the ASD treatment application; and post-planting every 3 weeks. Soil samples collected in post-treatment were used to measure the following parameters: pH, EC and nitrate levels using 1:2 v:v water extracts and organic acids (only from 3 to 27 days after treatment). Biometric assessments were conducted at 36 and 106 days after planting measuring the fresh and dry biomass of one plant per experimental unit. Leaf, stem and fruit biomass was determined separately, and oven-dried material will be milled and analyzed for total N, macro and micro-nutrient content. Leaf chlorophyll content has been measured over the growing. Starting at the end of July, fruit yield data was collected on 5 plants per experimental unit weekly. Single fruits are harvested weekly as they are developing the red color and are sorted in marketable and unmarketable fruit. Marketable fruit are divided in fruit size categories according to USDA standards. A sample of 5-6 representative fruit are used for fruit quality assessments determining the fruit dry matter content, brix and acidity, and pH. Trial data are being summarized and analyzed. A repetition of the on-station ASD fertility trial was established on the Ohio State Wooster Campus research farms in Wooster, OH in October 2022. This trial will provide data on Autumn treatments and provide another environment for testing. Objective 3 Goal: Evaluate ASD through on-farm trials The full set of mother and baby trials will be established in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in Autumn 2023. Grower high tunnel sampling in 2021 and 2022 will aid in identifying grower collaborators. Two preliminary on-farm trials were established in Holmes and Morrow County, Ohio in Autumn 2022 in high tunnels that have a history of tomato cropping. Both grower collaborators expressed interest in participating in the trials early. These trials are comparing ASD treatment with wheat midds to a non-amended, uncovered control with four replications. From the high tunnel survey conducted in 2021, there are seven high tunnels that could be considered for the on-farm trials based on soilborne pathogen presence in Pennsylvania. These include two growers in Berks Co. (southeastern PA) and two growers in Union Co. (central PA) all of which had crop damaging populations of root-knot nematode. Objective 4 Goal: Grower education on soilborne diseases See information on how results have been disseminated to communities of interest.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Phillips, B., Testen, A., Filbrun, B. 2022. Tunnel Trouble? Hoop house help is on the way. Vegetable Growers News. 56, 8: 14-15
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