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Earthworms promote the reduction of Fusarium biomass and deoxynivalenol content in wheat straw under field conditions

TR Number

Date

2011

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier B.V.

Abstract

Earthworms provide numerous ecosystem services within the context of Conservation Agriculture. Two species of earthworms, Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea caliginosa, were field-tested to determine their impacts on decomposing Fusarium culmorum-infected and deoxynivalenol (DON)-contaminated wheat straw on the soil surface. Earthworms were inoculated into systems containing infected straw with high contamination levels of DON on non-infected straw for an 8 week period in Northern Germany. L. terrestris was able to significantly reduce the Fusarium biomass as well as the DON concentration compared to both A. caliginosa and control. This indicates that anecic detritivorous species of earthworms may be able to mitigate the risks, such as subsequent crop infection, of using crop residues in a CA system.

Description

Metadata only record

Keywords

Conservation agriculture, Pest control, Conservation tillage, Plant pathogens, Mycotoxin degradation, Fpe, Don, Fusarium-infected straw, Field mesocosm, Lumbricus terrestris, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Earthworms, Field Scale

Citation

Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43(9): 1858-1865