Abstract
The role of earthworms in plant disease has received little attention. To address whether earthworms would affect the severity of Verticillium wilt of eggplant (Solanum melongena) in the field, we grew eggplants in experimental field plots that were naturally infested with Verticillium dahliae in 2005, 2006, and 2007. Three earthworm treatments were compared: (i) no treatment (untreated control), (ii) earthworm populations reduced via chemical eradicants (carbaryl or hot mustard) (reduced treatment), and (iii) earthworm populations increased by addition of adult Canadian nightcrawlers (Lumbricus terrestris, 11 earthworms per m 2 ) (augmented treatment). Compared to the untreated control, the estimates of the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) were reduced while estimates of the canopy growth curve (CGC) and the final plant weights were increased in plots augmented with earthworms in all 3 years. In 2 out of 3 years, eggplant yield (weight and number of fruit) was increased in plots augmented with earthworms. When a carbaryl drench was used to reduce earthworm numbers, the treatment resulted in plants with more disease than in the untreated controls in 2005. However, in 2005 and 2006, carbaryl-treated plants had larger CGC values and higher yield than in the untreated controls and were not significantly different from the augmented plots. When a hot mustard extraction procedure was used to reduce earthworm densities in 2007, plant growth, yield, and disease variables did not differ from the untreated control. Although the effects of reducing earthworms were variable and difficult to explain, our findings suggest that augmenting earthworm populations can suppress Verticillium wilt of eggplant, and strategies that increase earthworm numbers may contribute to disease suppression.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Earthworm augmentation reduced eggplant wilt disease progress across all three years.
- Taxon
- Eggplant
Solanum melongenat0 - Treatment
- augmented with earthwormse0
- Outcome
- area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC)e0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- all 3 yearse0
- Comparator
- untreated controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“Compared to the untreated control, the estimates of the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) were reduced while estimates of the canopy growth curve (CGC) and the final plant weights were increased in plots augmented with earthworms in all 3 years.”
Claim · model-written summary
Earthworm augmentation increased canopy growth curve estimates across all three years.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- augmented with earthwormse0
- Outcome
- canopy growth curve (CGC)e0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- all 3 yearse0
- Comparator
- untreated controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“Compared to the untreated control, the estimates of the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) were reduced while estimates of the canopy growth curve (CGC) and the final plant weights were increased in plots augmented with earthworms in all 3 years.”
Claim · model-written summary
Earthworm augmentation increased final eggplant weight across all three years.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- augmented with earthwormse0
- Outcome
- final plant weightse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- all 3 yearse0
- Comparator
- untreated controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“Compared to the untreated control, the estimates of the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) were reduced while estimates of the canopy growth curve (CGC) and the final plant weights were increased in plots augmented with earthworms in all 3 years.”
Claim · model-written summary
Earthworm augmentation increased eggplant fruit weight yield in two of three years.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- augmented with earthwormse0
- Outcome
- eggplant yield (weighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- 2 out of 3 yearse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“In 2 out of 3 years, eggplant yield (weight and number of fruit) was increased in plots augmented with earthworms.”
Claim · model-written summary
Earthworm augmentation increased fruit number in two of three years.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- augmented with earthwormse0
- Outcome
- number of fruite0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- 2 out of 3 yearse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“In 2 out of 3 years, eggplant yield (weight and number of fruit) was increased in plots augmented with earthworms.”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbaryl reduction of earthworms increased eggplant disease in 2005.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- carbaryl drenche0
- Outcome
- diseasee0
- Direction
- moree0
- Qualifier
- in 2005e0
- Comparator
- untreated controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“When a carbaryl drench was used to reduce earthworm numbers, the treatment resulted in plants with more disease than in the untreated controls in 2005.”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbaryl-treated plants had larger canopy growth curve values in 2005 and 2006 than untreated controls.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- carbaryl-treatede0
- Outcome
- CGC valuese0
- Direction
- largere0
- Qualifier
- in 2005 and 2006e0
- Comparator
- untreated controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“in 2005 and 2006, carbaryl-treated plants had larger CGC values and higher yield than in the untreated controls and were not significantly different from the augmented plots.”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbaryl-treated plants had higher yield in 2005 and 2006 than untreated controls.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- carbaryl-treatede0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- in 2005 and 2006e0
- Comparator
- untreated controlse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“in 2005 and 2006, carbaryl-treated plants had larger CGC values and higher yield than in the untreated controls and were not significantly different from the augmented plots.”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbaryl-treated plants did not differ significantly from augmented plots for canopy growth and yield.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- carbaryl-treatede0
- Outcome
- CGC values and higher yielde0
- Direction
- not significantly differente0
- Comparator
- augmented plotse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“carbaryl-treated plants had larger CGC values and higher yield than in the untreated controls and were not significantly different from the augmented plots.”
Claim · model-written summary
Hot mustard reduction of earthworm density did not change plant growth, yield, or disease in 2007.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Treatment
- hot mustard extraction proceduree0
- Outcome
- plant growth, yield, and disease variablese0
- Direction
- did not differe0
- Qualifier
- in 2007e0
- Comparator
- untreated controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“When a hot mustard extraction procedure was used to reduce earthworm densities in 2007, plant growth, yield, and disease variables did not differ from the untreated control.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest that increasing earthworm populations may suppress Verticillium wilt of eggplant.
- Taxon
- EggplantSolanum melongenat0
- Outcome
- strategies that increase earthworm numbers may contribute to disease suppressione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Eggplant”
e0“our findings suggest that augmenting earthworm populations can suppress Verticillium wilt of eggplant, and strategies that increase earthworm numbers may contribute to disease suppression.”
The same questions in other papers
carbaryl · disease · Solanum melongena (eggplant)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
application · disease · Solanum melongena (eggplant)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 14 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.