Control of plant-parasitic nematodes using cover crops in table grape cultivation in Chile

Abstract

A study to evaluate the effect of a three-year rotation with cover crops for the management of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) was performed in two vineyards producing table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) in a semiarid region in the north of Chile. In the first vineyard, located in Copiapó valley (trial I), the crops used in the rotations or monoculture were fava bean (Vicia faba) cv. Aguadulce, rape (Brassica napus var. napus) cv L-456, forage turnip (B. rapa var. rapa) cv. Barkant, barley (Hordeum vulgare) cv. Aurora, oat (Avena sativa) cv. Urano-INIA, and mustard greens (Brassica juncea). At the second vineyard employed in the study, located in Huasco valley (trial II), the same crops and varieties were used in a rotation system with the incorporation of crop/goat manure mixtures or manure only at a rate of 10 Mg ha-1. In both studies, two control treatments were included: a nontreated control and a chemical control in which ethoprop was applied at a rate of 7 kg ha-1. The results from trial I indicated no significant differences between the cover crop rotation treatments and controls for Xiphinema index and for the other PPNs populations. In trial II, treatments 4 (manure) and 5 (manure and crop rotation) showed significantly lower values compared to treatment 2 (chemical control), with the highest X. index levels, but no differences from the control. No differences were detected for the other PPNs.