VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Effects of Soil Temperature on Growth of Beans in Relation to Soil Compaction and Fusarium Root Rot. D. W. Burke, Research plant pathologist, Western Region, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350; D. E. Miller(2), and A. W. Barker(3). (2)(3)Research soil scientist, and agriculture research technician, respectively, Western Region, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350. Phytopathology 70:1047-1049. Accepted for publication 15 May 1980. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1980. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-70-1047.

Low soil temperatures were more detrimental to both root and top growth of bean plants when the soil was infested by Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli than when it was not infested. Bean roots penetrated compact (1.5 g/cm³) Fusarium-infested or fumigated soil more readily when soil temperatures during the night and day were 21 and 27 C, respectively, than when they were 16 and 21 C. Root penetration of compact soil also was greater at a constant soil temperature of 21 C than at 16 C, with plant tops exposed to either 21 or 27 C. Soil temperature affected root growth much less in loose (1.2 g/cm³) soil than in compact soil. Air temperatures affected both root and top growth much less than soil temperatures. The amount of root growth in loose soil above compact soil generally was inversely related to the amount of root growth into the compact soil. Six cultivars differing in field resistance to Fusarium root rot did not differ significantly in their ability to penetrate compact Fusarium-infested soil at high or low temperatures.