Reduction of Fusarium Root Rot and Sclerotinia Wilt in Beans with Irrigation, Tillage, and Bean Genotype. D. E. Miller, Research Soil Scientist, 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. 70:163-166. Accepted for publication 26 August 1985. 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, 1986. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-163.

The influence of sprinkler irrigation regimes on yield of dry beans was evaluated as affected by deep tillage to reduce soil compaction, soil infestation with Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli, and cultivar resistance to the pathogen. The effect of these practices on Sclerotinia wilt was evaluated. There was little yield response to deep tillage in the absence of the Fusarium pathogen. When it was present, yield increases attributed to deep tillage were greatest in the most Fusarium-susceptible cultivar (Red Mexican UI-36) and lowest in the most Fusarium-resistant cultivar (Roza Pink). Yield increases resulting from increased irrigation were greater on Fusarium-infested than on noninfested soil. Injury from Sclerotinia wilt increased with increasing irrigation in Fusarium-free fields but was negligible in Fusarium-infested fields.