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Increase in Populations of Rhizoctonia solani and Wirestem of Collard with Velvet Bean Cover Crop Mulch

Velvet bean has been used traditionally as a summer cover crop in the southeastern United States. We investigated the use of killed velvet bean as a cover crop mulch left on the soil surface before collard was transplanted in the fall. Control treatments were weed-free fallow and velvet bean that was killed and disked into the soil before transplanting. Incidence of wirestem, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, reached a maximum of 25% in 2000 but only 4% in 2001 in cover crop mulch treatments. Nevertheless, in both years, the infection rate, area under the disease progress curve, and final incidence were significantly greater with cover crop mulch than in the fallow or disked treatments. Wirestem incidence did not differ between the disked and fallow treatments in either year. Populations of R. solani in soil were greater after cover crop mulch than in fallow plots in both years and greater in the disked treatment than in fallow soil in 2000 but not 2001. Velvet bean does not appear to be suitable as an organic mulch for fall collard production, but could be used as a summer cover crop if disked into the soil before transplanting collard.