Lasting Effects of Soil Fumigation on Nematodes?
I am often asked about the duration of control that pre-plant soil fumigation has on parasitic nematodes. My typical response is “Probably about 3-4 years, or once the roots move outside of the treated area.” This generalization appears to be true in many orchards as symptoms of nematode parasitism, which include stunting, bacterial canker, and bud drop, often do not develop until the fourth or fifth year. This past fall, we performed our annual nematode sampling of all of our research plots. One of the plots was our almond replant plot located near Ballico. This orchard is located on a sandy soil with a history of almond trees and nematodes. In the fall of 2010, it was fumigated with four fumigant treatments, including methyl bromide row-strip, C35 row-strip, Telone II rowstrip, and Telone II broadcast, a control plot, and a spot steam treatment. In the spring of 2011, the trees were planted.
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