Air drying of naturally infested soils (0.12 to 0.38% water or about -2,000 bars) resulted in no recovery of Cylindrocladium crotalariae microsclerotia, but rewetting soils to near field capacity for 1 to 4 wk before assay resulted in partial recovery from the air drying-induced decreased germinability.

Numbers of germinable C. crotalariae microsclerotia (assayed at 26 C) decreased progressively over 4 wk when naturally infested soils were incubated at 6 C. No germinable microsclerotia were recovered when soils were incubated at -10 C. When soils incubated at -10 C and at 6 C were transferred to 26 C for 4 wk, the low-temperature effect was partially reversed. Incubation of naturally infested soils under field conditions over the winter months (November-February) indicated that a similar low-temperature phenomenon exists in nature. Germinability of axenic, laboratory-grown microsclerotia of C. crotalariae, C. floridanum, and C. scoparium incubated 4 wk at 6 C ranged from 0 to 91.3% (mean = 37.7%) of the initial germinability. Partial recovery of laboratory-grown microsclerotia from the lowtemperature effect, by incubation at 26 C, was demonstrated. Conductivity measurements of solutions bathing microsclerotia incubated at 6 C and 26 C for 4 wk indicated that chilling injury may account, in part, for decreased germinability of microsclerotia.

Direct observation of washed conidia of C. scoparium on rewetted, non-sterile soils at 26 C indicated that peak germination (33-58%) occurred after 24 h incubation. Peak germination on continually moist soils was somewhat lower (18-26%) than on rewetted soils. Conidia did not germinate on continually moist soils at 6 C. Conidia germinated at a high level (93-95%) in axenic culture in the absence of exogenous carbon and nitrogen substrates. The inhibition of conidium germination on soils was due, in part, to the presence of fungistatic soil volatiles. Addition of low levels of carbon and nitrogen substrates nullified the inhibitory effect of soil volatiles. Germinability of C. scoparium, C. crotalariae, and C. floridanum conidia in artificially infested soils (assayed on a selective medium at 26 C) decreased progressively during incubation at 26 C from 1 wk to 4 mo. No germinable conidia were recovered after incubation of soils at 6 C for 4 wk.

Control of Cylindrocladium root rot of black wainut seedlings with sodium azide at 224 kg/ha applied by the plowdown method was comparable to MC-33 at 504 kg/ha. Sodium azide at 67 kg/ha was only marginally effective in disease control. Reduction of Cylindrocladium microsclerotium populations, qualitatively assayed by the azalea leaftrap method, was found in soil samples from plots fumigated with sodium azide and MC-33.

A small-spored Cylindrocladium sp. with clavate to papillate vesicles, identified as C. parvum, was consistently recovered from diseased roots and soil samples from a Virginia forest nursery. Percentage recovery from necrotic roots and soil samples collected from root zones of necrotic black walnut seedlings was appreciably higher for C. parvum than for C. floridanum or C. scoparium. In greenhouse tests, limited pathogenicity of C. parvum on black walnut seedlings was demonstrated.