Modeling the survival of two soilborne pathogens under dry structural solarization

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Pathology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Greenhouse sanitation is crucial for disease management.
• Structural solarization utilizes heat and low humidity for disinfection.
• Pathogen survival under these conditions requires accurate modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To study the survival of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici and Sclerotium rolfsii during structural solarization.
• To develop a dynamic model for predicting thermal inactivation of these pathogens.
• To assess the impact of fluctuating temperature and relative humidity on pathogen survival.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 12 experiments over 4 years on structural solarization in closed, empty greenhouses.
• Applied the Weibull distribution model to describe pathogen survival dynamics.
• Utilized fluctuating temperature and relative humidity regimes.
• Numerically integrated the Weibull distribution derivative to estimate pathogen survival.

Main Results:

• Structural solarization reduced Fusarium oxysporum by 69-95% and Sclerotium rolfsii by 47.5-100% after 20 days.
• The Weibull model, incorporating temperature and relative humidity, showed high accuracy (R^2: 0.83-0.99) in predicting pathogen inactivation.
• Ambient relative humidity data is a significant factor to consider in the model.

Conclusions:

• Structural solarization is an effective sanitation method for greenhouses.
• The developed dynamic model accurately predicts pathogen inactivation under fluctuating environmental conditions.
• This approach can be a valuable component of integrated pest management strategies.