Effects of Low Soil Oxygen on Fusarium Root Rot of Beans with Respect to Seedling Age and Soil Temperature. D. E. Miller, Research Soil Scientist, Soil and Water Management and Vegetable Crops Production, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350. D. W. Burke, Research Plant Pathologist, Soil and Water Management and Vegetable Crops Production, Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Prosser, WA 99350. Plant Dis. 69:328-330. Accepted for publication 11 October 1984. 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, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-328.

Growth room studies determined the response of bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) growing in Fusarium-infested soil to temporary low soil oxygen levels as affected by seedling age and temperature. Age of seedlings (7, 12, or 19 days after transplanting) when subjected to low soil oxygen had a minor effect on shoot or root growth and water use. Temporary low soil oxygen increased injury by Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli regardless of seedling age. Temperature regime had a major effect on plant growth. When temperature was increased or decreased midway in the growth period, the initial temperature affected root and shoot yields more then the final one. Temporary low soil oxygen increased root rot in all temperature regimes, but the effect was usually greater at higher temperatures.