Field Ef?cacy of Furfural as a Nematicide on Turf

摘要

A commercial formulation of furfural was recently launched in the United States as a turfgrass nematicide.Three ?eld trials evaluated ef?cacy of this commercial formulation on dwarf bermudagrass putting greens infested primarily with Belonolaimus longicaudatus, Meloidogyne graminis, or both these nematodes, and in some cases with Mesocriconema ornatum or Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus.In all these trials, furfural improved turf health but did not reduce population densities of B.longicaudatus, M.graminis, or the other plant-parasitic nematodes present.In two additional ?eld trials, ef?cacy of furfural at increasing depths in the soil pro?le (0 to 5 cm, 5 to 10 cm, and 10 to 15 cm) against B.longicaudatus on bermudagrass was evaluated.Reduction in population density of B.longicaudatus was observed in furfural-treated plots for depths below 5 cm on several dates during both trials.However, no differences in population densities of B.longicaudatus were observed between the furfural-treated plots and the untreated control for soil depth of 0 to 5 cm during either trial.These results indicate that furfural applications can improve health of nematode-infested turf and canreduce population densityof plant-parasitic nematodesin turf systems.Although the degreeto which turf improvement is directly caused by nematicidal effects is still unclear, furfural does appear to be a useful nematode management tool for turf.