Feasibility of Using Mycoherbicides for Controlling Illicit Drug Crops by National Research Council

Author:National Research Council
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Agriculture: Crop and Plant Production, Agriculture: Pesticides, Insecticides and Herbicides
ISBN: 9780309221740
Publisher: The National Academies Press
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

PERSISTENCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT

The persistence of the proposed F. oxysporum mycoherbicides in the environment is important to determine whether their population density would remain high enough and last long enough to infect the target crops and whether they could survive in the soil and organic matter at levels necessary to affect later plantings of the crop. Another consideration is whether the mycoherbicide strains pose risks to nontarget organisms after release. If such risks occur, the prolonged persistence of the strains would be a disadvantage rather than an advantage. The ability to persist in the environment is an important consideration in proposing the use of a mycoherbicide strain. Monitoring for persistence of registered mycoherbicides has been based on molecular characteristics of the fungus (Dauch et al. 2003; Ditmore et al. 2008).

In general, the efficacy and survival of fungal pathogens depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature, soil composition, moisture (dew period, relative humidity, and rainfall for foliar pathogens; soil moisture and water potential for root pathogens), and ultraviolet radiation. Mycoherbicides are typically formulated to enhance pathogen survival after application to ensure successful infection and establishment on the target plant and possibly to allow for the production of secondary inoculum to keep the disease going during the season or to provide inoculum for the next season. Longer-term survival would depend on favorable environmental conditions. Other factors that influence survival include geographic considerations, the movement of the pathogen outside the application area, the ability of the pathogen to survive on other plant hosts, and the nature and composition of the resident soil biota.

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