Inhibitory efficacy of calcium cyanamide on the pathogens of replant diseases in strawberry

Abstract

Replant diseases in strawberry caused by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae are serious problems for its sustainable production under continuous cropping. This research studied the inhibitory effect of calcium cyanamide on pathogenic fungi in Petri dishes and on sterilized soil. Results indicated that calcium cyanamide had an obvious inhibitory effect on three pathogens on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. Among them, the inhibitory effect on Rhizoctonia solani was the highest. As the concentrations of calcium cyanamide was increased from 0.1 to 10 mg/mL, the inhibition rate on mycelial growth increased from 1.43% to 100%. Inhibitory effects on Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae also existed on Petri dishes but to a lesser extent. Similar results were also observed in sterilized soil. When the concentration of calcium cyanamide in sterilized soil was 0.1%, the inhibitory effect on Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae was 68.46% and 54.46%, respectively. The inhibitive effect of calcium cyanamide on Fusarium oxysporum and Verticillium dahliae increased quickly as the soil moisture changed from 10% to 40% for Verticillium dahliae and from 10% to 60% for Fusarium oxysporum. This indicated that the inhibitive effect of calcium cyanamide could be influenced greatly by the moisture content in the soil.