Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils
Wine grape production is an important economic asset in many nations; however, a significant proportion of vines succumb to grapevine trunk pathogens, reducing yields and causing economic losses. Cover crops, plants that are grown in addition to main crops in order to maintain and enhance soil compo...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/128 |
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| author | Andrew Richards Mehrbod Estaki José Ramón Úrbez-Torres Pat Bowen Tom Lowery Miranda Hart |
| author_facet | Andrew Richards Mehrbod Estaki José Ramón Úrbez-Torres Pat Bowen Tom Lowery Miranda Hart |
| author_sort | Andrew Richards |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wine grape production is an important economic asset in many nations; however, a significant proportion of vines succumb to grapevine trunk pathogens, reducing yields and causing economic losses. Cover crops, plants that are grown in addition to main crops in order to maintain and enhance soil composition, may also serve as a line of defense against these fungal pathogens by producing volatile root exudates and/or harboring suppressive microbes. We tested whether cover crop diversity reduced disease symptoms and pathogen abundance. In two greenhouse experiments, we inoculated soil with a 10<sup>6</sup> conidia suspension of <i>Ilyonectria liriodendri</i>, a pathogenic fungus, then conditioned soil with cover crops for several months to investigate changes in pathogen abundance and fungal communities. After removal of cover crops, Chardonnay cuttings were grown in the same soil to assess disease symptoms. When grown alone, white mustard was the only cover crop associated with reductions in necrotic root damage and abundance of <i>Ilyonectria.</i> The suppressive effects of white mustard largely disappeared when paired with other cover crops. In this study, plant identity was more important than diversity when controlling for fungal pathogens in vineyards. This research aligns with other literature describing the suppressive potential of white mustard in vineyards. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:47:36Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:47:36Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-1f74a28ec7ba418e8942c630ef5bb86a2023-11-19T20:10:13ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-03-0112412810.3390/d12040128Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard SoilsAndrew Richards0Mehrbod Estaki1José Ramón Úrbez-Torres2Pat Bowen3Tom Lowery4Miranda Hart5Department of Biology, University of British Columbia—Okanagan, 3187 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of British Columbia—Okanagan, 3187 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, CanadaSummerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 4200 Highway 97 South, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, CanadaSummerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 4200 Highway 97 South, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, CanadaSummerland Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 4200 Highway 97 South, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of British Columbia—Okanagan, 3187 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, CanadaWine grape production is an important economic asset in many nations; however, a significant proportion of vines succumb to grapevine trunk pathogens, reducing yields and causing economic losses. Cover crops, plants that are grown in addition to main crops in order to maintain and enhance soil composition, may also serve as a line of defense against these fungal pathogens by producing volatile root exudates and/or harboring suppressive microbes. We tested whether cover crop diversity reduced disease symptoms and pathogen abundance. In two greenhouse experiments, we inoculated soil with a 10<sup>6</sup> conidia suspension of <i>Ilyonectria liriodendri</i>, a pathogenic fungus, then conditioned soil with cover crops for several months to investigate changes in pathogen abundance and fungal communities. After removal of cover crops, Chardonnay cuttings were grown in the same soil to assess disease symptoms. When grown alone, white mustard was the only cover crop associated with reductions in necrotic root damage and abundance of <i>Ilyonectria.</i> The suppressive effects of white mustard largely disappeared when paired with other cover crops. In this study, plant identity was more important than diversity when controlling for fungal pathogens in vineyards. This research aligns with other literature describing the suppressive potential of white mustard in vineyards.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/128grapevine trunk diseasecover cropsbiofumigantyoung vine declineplant-microbe interactions |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Richards Mehrbod Estaki José Ramón Úrbez-Torres Pat Bowen Tom Lowery Miranda Hart Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils Diversity grapevine trunk disease cover crops biofumigant young vine decline plant-microbe interactions |
| title | Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils |
| title_full | Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils |
| title_fullStr | Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils |
| title_short | Cover Crop Diversity as a Tool to Mitigate Vine Decline and Reduce Pathogens in Vineyard Soils |
| title_sort | cover crop diversity as a tool to mitigate vine decline and reduce pathogens in vineyard soils |
| topic | grapevine trunk disease cover crops biofumigant young vine decline plant-microbe interactions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/128 |
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