New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Short communication: Irrigation, sawdust mulch, and Enhancereg. biocide affects soft
rot incidence, and flower and tuber production of calla
P. J. WRIGHT
New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food
Research Limited
Cronin Road, RD1
Pukekohe, New Zealand
email: wrightp@crop.cri.nz
G. K. BURGE
New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food
Research Limited
Private Bag 11 600
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Abstract The incidence and severity of soft rot, flower
grades, and tuber yields of calla (
Zantedeschia spp.) plants were
affected by the quantity of water received during the growing season, sawdust
mulch, and Enhance
reg. biocide applications to tubers before
planting. Incidence of plants with soft rot symptoms increased at a relatively
constant rate during the season reaching an average for all treatments of 61%
at the end of flowering. Irrigated plus mulched callas had 15% less soft rot
than the irrigation without mulch or the mulch without irrigation treatments.
Yield of tubers was 90% greater from irrigated plants. Dipping tubers in
Enhance
reg. before planting slightly reduced the severity of rotting
in harvested tubers from non-irrigated plants. The total number of flowers was
not affected by irrigation but was slightly reduced by sawdust mulch. However,
the number of long stemmed flowers was increased 41% by irrigation, to over 1.5
per tuber.
Keywords Zantedeschia spp.; calla; soft rot;
Erwinia carotovora; agronomic methods; irrigation; mulch
H99052
Received 20 December 1999; accepted 2 May 2000
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (491K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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