Suppression of in Chile Pepper Using and Cover Crop Residues and as a Biocontrol Agent.

Phytophthora blight, caused by , is a serious disease of many vegetable crops worldwide. In New Mexico, U.S.A., the disease affects chile pepper ( L.), a major crop in the state. There is no single tool that effectively controls the disease. Continuous research is needed in identifying combination of tools that can reduce the impact of Phytophthora blight. We explored the potential of combining cover crops and biocontrol agents to reduce soilborne diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Indian mustard ( L.) cover crop on the antagonistic ability of against in vitro and to quantify the impacts of combining soil amendment with residues from and barley ( L.) cover crops and plastic covering on infection of chile pepper seedlings by under greenhouse conditions. Volatiles from macerated tissue of significantly reduced and growth in the absence of soil by 89.0 and 79.0%, respectively. When incorporated in soils, volatiles from macerated tissue of significantly reduced and by 33.4 and 7.8%, respectively. was more resilient to biofumigation than Significant reduction in disease incidence was observed with -fumigated soil, while no disease suppression was observed with soil incorporation of residues. Covering soil with plastic was necessary for increasing the efficacy of biofumigation.