Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2018)

Author(s):
Kishore Kumar Thakur and Dharam Paul Sharma

Abstract:
Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] is the most important temperate and deciduous fruit tree grown in India. Replant disease is a major constrain in establishing the new plantations of stone fruits such as peach on old orchard sites and towards their improved productivity. Peach replant disease (PRD) is characterized by stunted growth and reduced yields; attributed to several biotic and abiotic causes; its symptoms are vague and highly inconsistent; making it difficult to diagnose and overcome. Since, several previous studies showed that the practices for controlling replant disease have included soil profile modification coupled with soil fumigation. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the response of peach plants to soil fumigation and organic and inorganic amendments made in a replant soil under pot-cultivation. In this experiment; we studied the effect of different soil management techniques for controlling PRD in soil from replanted peach orchard cultivated for >30 years under the same crop. Six replant soil treatments including 3 variants viz., soil fumigation, PGPR and biocontrol in 5 different combos and a control (i.e. recommended package of practices); were employed to each of four plants in each treatment. Different treatments significantly (p<0.05) affected the available soil and total leaf nutrients content of peach plants grown in a replant soil. The results from this study provide evidence that combined treatment (Soil fumigation +PGPR +Biocontrol+25% more of recommended SSP) helped improving the soil and plant nutrient status and thus may alleviate replant problem in peach.