Modeling the Survival of Two Soilborne Pathogens under Dry Structural Solarization

Eli Shlevin, I. Sam Saguy, Yitzhak Mahrer, Jaacov Katan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Scopus citations

Abstract

Structural (space) solarization of a closed, empty greenhouse for sanitation involves dry heating to 60°C and higher and low relative humidity (RH), under a fluctuating temperature and RH regime. Survival of inocula of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and Sclerotium rolfsii during structural solarization was studied for 4 years (total of 12 experiments) in an attempt to develop a dynamic model for expressing the thermal inactivation of the pathogens. After 20 days of exposure, the populations of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and S. rolfsii were reduced by 69 to 95% and by 47.5 to 100%, respectively. The Weibull distribution model was applied to describe pathogen survival. The Weibull rate parameter, b, was found to follow an exponential (for F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici) and the Fermi (for S. rolfsii) functions at constant temperatures. To improve the applicability of the model, fluctuating conditions of both temperature and RH were utilized. The Weibull distribution derivative, expressed as a function of temperature and moisture, was numerically integrated to estimate survival of inocula exposed to structural solarization. Deviations between experimental and calculated values derived from the model were quite small and the coefficient of determination (R2) values ranged from 0.83 to 0.99 in 9 of 12 experiments, indicating that ambient RH data should be considered. Structural solarization for sanitation could be a viable component in integrated pest management programs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1247-1257
Number of pages11
JournalPhytopathology
Volume93
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2003

Keywords

  • Fluctuating climatic conditions
  • Greenhouse sanitation
  • Inoculum eradication

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