Biofumigation zur Bekämpfung von Verticillium dahliae

Summary

Cruciferous plants with high contents of glucosinolates can be used to control soilborne
diseases. During the degradation of such plants, the glucosinolates are
transformed into isothio- and thiocyanates. These molecules are volatile and toxic,
therefore, this method is called biofumigation. In this context, the efficacy of two brown
mustard (Brassica juncea) and one canola (Brassica napus) cultivars to reduce the
number of Verticillium dahliae microsclerotia was tested in pot trials. Verticillium
dahliae is the causal agent of verticillium wilt of a large number of important crops.
Microsclerotia are the surviving structures of V. dahliae in the soil. A strong decrease
of the number of microsclerotia was observed using the high glucosinolate-containing
brown mustard cultivar ISCI-99 and an intermediate effect was observed with a low
glucosinolate-containing canola cultivar in a silty soil. However, when ISCI-99 was
incorporated in a sandy soil, no such effect on the microsclerotia was measured. The
efficacy of biofumigation with glucosinolates depends not only on the plant species but
also on the soil type.