Publication Date:
2015-05-08
Description:
A UK field trial compared the efficacy of a range of synthetic herbicides and the fungal biocontrol agent Chondrostereum purpureum (Pers.) Pouzar at preventing resprouting of Rhododendron ponticum L. following cutting, and hence countering infection with Phytophthora ramorum Werres or P. kernoviae Brasier. Treatments were applied to cut rhododendron stumps in the summer and winter, and regrowth was evaluated 25 months after application. All chemical herbicide treatments significantly reduced regrowth, and would therefore help to lower reinfection by P. ramorum or P. kernoviae . Timing of applications (summer or winter) did not affect efficacy. Picloram was the least effective of the chemical herbicide treatments. A 20 per cent solution of Roundup Pro Biactive ® (360 g l –1 glyphosate; Monsanto) applied to stumps immediately after cutting was an effective, low-toxicity and inexpensive means of preventing regrowth, although some follow-up treatment was necessary. If approvals for glyphosate formulations were lost in the future, products based on triclopyr or picloram could be potential substitutes. Use of the wood-rotting basidiomycete C. purpureum as a biocontrol agent did not have a statistically significant effect in this study, although the possibility of a synergistic effect with glyphosate has not been ruled out. It is possible that any impact of the biological agent becomes apparent only over a longer time frame and thus extended assessment periods would be required. Refinement of the application technique and/or the formulation method as well as a more comprehensive strain selection might result in improved efficacy of the biocontrol treatment.
Print ISSN:
0015-752X
Electronic ISSN:
1464-3626
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Permalink