Rutgers professor Ming-Yi Chou, with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Cornell University, investigated the potential for disease-suppressive soils in turfgrass systems and the impact of fungicide use intensity on the soil microbiome and its ability to suppress the fungal pathogen Clarireedia jacksonii, which causes dollar spot disease in turfgrass.
They found that soil microbiomes from sites with lower fungicide use reduced disease severity, indicating that less intensive fungicide use may promote beneficial microbial activity suppressing disease.
Contact fungicides like chlorothalonil and fluazinam were found to significantly impact disease suppressiveness more than penetrant fungicides, suggesting that the type of fungicide used can influence microbial communities differently.
An inverse relationship was observed between fungicide intensity and disease suppressiveness, meaning that higher fungicide use was associated with less disease suppression, likely due to the negative impact on beneficial microbes.
The study's analyses, including counterfactual and correlation analyses, supported the finding that reduced fungicide use enhances microbial disease suppression, highlighting the potential for more sustainable disease management practices.
Specific microbes were identified as positively correlated with disease suppression and negatively correlated with fungicide intensity, suggesting that these microbes play a role in suppressing the disease when fungicide use is reduced.
Chou M-Y, Patil AT, Huo D, Lei Q, Kao-Kniffin J, Koch P. Fungicide use intensity influences the soil microbiome and links to fungal disease suppressiveness in amenity turfgrass. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2025 Mar 19;91(3):e0177124. doi: 10.1128/aem.01771-24. Epub 2025 Feb 21. PMID: 39982054; PMCID: PMC11921360.
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