Organic mulches and irrigation affect Mesocriconema xenoplax and Pratylenchus penetrans under cherry Cover

.blurhash-client-img { display: none !important; }

Organic mulches and irrigation affect Mesocriconema xenoplax and Pratylenchus penetrans under cherry

Journal of Nematology

Volume 57 (2025): Issue 1 (February 2025)

By: Thomas Forge, Kirsten Hannam, Shawn Kuchta, Paige Munro, Mehdi Sharifi and Tristan Watson

Open Access

|Dec 2025

Figures & Tables

Diagram of one block of the experiment, showing the split-plot experimental design, with entire tree rows allocated either microsprinkler or drip irrigation, and five ST randomly allocated to 5-m long subplots within each row. The four trees per subplot are denoted by “x.” The entire experiment consisted of 6 blocks for a total of 12 rows. ST, soil treatments.

Change through time in the percentage of plots with M. xenoplax for drip irrigation (Drip) (30 plots) and MS irrigation (30 plots). Error bars are the standard errors of the proportions (n = 30). Asterisks (*) denote individual sample dates at which differences were significant (Chi-square, P ≤ 0.05). MS, microsprinkler.

Changes over five annual sample dates in population densities of M. xenoplax (100 cm−1 soil) and P. penetrans (100 cm−1 soil) under drip irrigation and MS irrigation in a sweet cherry orchard. Each data point is a main-factor mean of five ST and six blocks (n = 30). Error bars are (±) pooled standard errors from mixed model ANOVA of raw data. ANOVA P-values (log-transformed data) for irrigation × sample date interaction and irrigation main-factor effects were 0.408 and 0.004 for M. xenoplax, and 0.036 and 0.004 for P. penetrans, respectively. Individual sample dates at which drip irrigation differs from microsprinkler (P < 0.05) are denoted by “*” and “†” for M. xenoplax and P. penetrans, respectively. ANOVA, analysis of variance; MS, microsprinkler; ST, soil treatment.

Changes over five annual sample dates in number of P. penetrans g−1 dry fine root tissue in five ST in a sweet cherry orchard. Each data point is a mean of two irrigation treatments and six blocks (n = 12). Error bars are (±) pooled standard errors from mixed model ANOVA of raw data. ANOVA P-value (log-transformed data) for the ST × sample date interaction was 0.024. ANOVA, analysis of variance; ST, soil treatment.

Macronutrient concentrations and estimates of cumulative macro-nutrient inputs for the compost and bark chip treatments_

	C (%)	N (%)	P (%)	K (%)	Mg (%)	Ca (%)
AWC	18.9	1.22	0.30	0.84	0.55	2.40
YWC	22.5	1.25	0.30	0.98	0.65	2.40
BC	47.6	0.34	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.

Cumulative additions, 2014–2023 (Mg/ha⁻¹ orchard area)

Compost (C)	39.6	2.455	0.6	1.75	1.15	4.8
BC	59.5	0.421	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.
C + BC	99.1	2.876	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.	n.d.

Volumetric water contents (cm−3 H2O · cm−3 soil) in treatment plots under MS and drip irrigation regimes_

	Year

	2018	2020	2021	2022	2023
	MS

Compost (C)	0.179	0.241	0.259	0.280	0.116
BC	0.168	0.183	0.165	0.200	0.082
C + BC	0.179	0.224	0.165	0.208	0.139
Fumigated	0.179	0.185	0.174	0.167	0.096
MS average	0.176	0.208	0.191	0.214	0.108

	Drip

Compost (C)	0.181	0.249	0.190	0.194	0.149
BC	0.209	0.296	0.259	0.317	0.222
C + BC	0.165	0.215	0.195	0.186	0.127
Fumigated	0.172	0.279	0.228	0.257	0.171
Drip average	0.181	0.260	0.218	0.239	0.167

Main-factor means and mixed model repeated measurement ANOVA summaries for the three nematode population parameters from 2019 through 2023, and cherry tree TCA in 2023_

	M. xenoplax 100 cm⁻¹ soil	P. penetrans 100 cm⁻¹ soil	P. penetrans g⁻¹ root	2023 TCA cm²
Irrigation (whole-plot) means
Drip	78*	17*	136*	80
MS	34	24	268	72
ST (subplot) means
Compost (C)	115a	15b	108	78
BC	20b	25a	181	79
C + BC	26b	25ab	253	78
Fumigated	103a	20ab	293	76
Untreated	19b	19b	176	69
ANOVA summary (P-values)
Irrigation (I)	0.004	0.004	0.039	0.071
ST	0.048	0.017	0.079	0.599
I × ST	0.482	0.267	0.245	0.515
Year (Y)	0.005	<0.001	<0.001	NA
Y × I	0.408	0.036	0.961	NA
Y × ST	0.068	0.178	0.024	NA
Y × I × ST	0.964	0.253	0.369	NA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2025-0058 | Journal eISSN: 2640-396X | Journal ISSN: 0022-300X

Journal RSS Feed

Language: English

Submitted on: Aug 14, 2025

Published on: Dec 14, 2025

Published by: Society of Nematologists, Inc.

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

Mesocriconema xenoplax,

nematode ecology,

nematode management,

orchard nematodes,

Pratylenchus penetrans

Related subjects:

Life sciences, other

© 2025 Thomas Forge, Kirsten Hannam, Shawn Kuchta, Paige Munro, Mehdi Sharifi, Tristan Watson, published by Society of Nematologists, Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Previous article Volume 57 (2025): Issue 1 (February 2025)