VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Edaphic Parameters Associated with Establishment of the Biocontrol Agent Talaromyces flavus. D. R. Fravel, Research Plant Pathologist, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705; J. J. Marois, Research Plant Pathologist, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis 95616. Phytopathology 76:643-646. Accepted for publication 6 January 1986. 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/Phyto-76-643.

Talaromyces flavus populations were monitored for 13 wk in the greenhouse in 25 freshly collected field soils to which ascospores of T. flavus had been added. Five of 23 physical, chemical, and biological parameters measured in the 25 soils were related to survival and proliferation of T. flavus in a multivariate principal axis factor analysis. These parameters were cation exchange capacity; potassium, sodium, and zinc concentrations; and total soil bacterial population sizes. In subsequent experiments confirming the involvement of these parameters, potassium and zinc concentrations were positively correlated with T. flavus survival, whereas sodium concentration was inversely related. The possible relationships of cation exchange capacity and soil bacteria to T. flavus survival were not elucidated.