Title:

THE ROLE OF THE MICROBIOME IN THE NATURAL SUPPRESSION OF PYTHIUM-ROOT ROT IN WOOD-FIBER SUBSTRATES

There is increasing global demand for sustainable, organic, disease management practices to combat root-rot caused by the common oomycete pathogen Pythium ultimum in greenhouse production of ornamentals. Previous research has shown that grower standard peat-based media blended with pine wood-fibers is effective at suppressing other soil-borne diseases. However, wood-fiber amended substrates have yet to be tested against any oomycetes, and the means of disease suppression remains unknown. The two objectives of this research project are to survey wood-fiber amended substrates’ abilities to suppression root-rot of chrysanthemum caused by Pythium ultimum, and to compare microbiome profiles across substrates and disease states to begin to elucidate the role of the microbiome in disease suppression.

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