Soilborne fungal and bacterial diseases along with pests, such as parasitic nematodes, are a huge management challenge for Washington producers. However, management options such as fumigation are expensive and can kill off beneficial microbial communities that could compete with pathogens. There is still a lot we do not understand about the connections between soil health and disease suppression, but this is an active area of research and it is important to explore the positive and negative trade-offs of soil-building practices for soilborne pest pressures.
Resources
Mustard Cover Cropping in Potatoes: Farmer-to-Farmer Case Study Series. Video: Mustard cover cropping in potatoes for biofumigation. 2014.
Fumigation Alternatives. webpage.
Mustard Green Manures. webpage.
Using Green Manures in Potato Cropping Systems. Andrew McGuire. 2016. FS218E.
2008 Partial Budget Analysis for the Replacement of Metam Sodium by a Mustard Green Manure.
Keeping the Fields Green: Researching Diseases of Spinach Seed Plants. Video by WSU.
Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Pome and Stone Fruit Orchards.Tianna DuPont, Mark Mazzola, Howard Ferris. 2017. Washington State University.