Abstract
Cite as: Soppelsa, S., Gasser, M., Zago, M., Kelderer, M. (2024). Rice bran as non-chemical soil fumigant for organic strawberry cultivation. Abstract The interest in eco-friendly alternatives to suppress soilborne pathogens is currently growing, especially in strawberry crop. Within this framework, a trial was carried out in the strawberry specialized valley of South Tyrol, the Martell Valley (1,312 m a.s.l.). This experiment was conducted in a field where strawberry has been cultivated for many years consecutively and the symptoms of soilborne diseases were clearly visible in the year before beginning the test. Four weeks before transplanting the plants, rows were randomly assigned to each of the following treatments: untreated control, Dazomet (Basamid ®) as positive control and ASD (anaerobic soil disinfestation) with rice bran (RB). Vegetative biomass, yield and plant mortality were evaluated during the first and second cropping years (2022 and 2023). Promising results came from ASD-RB which had similar effects to the chemical fumigant, in terms of reducing plant mortality during the double cropping cycle (-12% as compared to untreated plants). In addition, RB treatment significantly increased the plant biomass (+65%), probably due to induced changes in the soil microbiome and soil nutrient dynamics (e.g., leaf nutrient content was significantly increased in plants subjected to treatment with ASD-RB). Nevertheless, the plant yield did not vary significantly among treatments. Our data suggest that strawberry cultivation in Martell Valley needs strategies for maintaining and improving soil health. The ASD method offers a worthwhile solution to counteract soilborne diseases, even under organic management conditions.