Research Archive - Development

Development of Methods to Reduce Pythium Infection of Spinach Roots
Leslie Katzman

A major problem with continuous hydroponic spinach production is root disease. The CEA program is focusing on methods to reduce disease in order to grow plants on a commercial scale. We are constructing special hydroponic tanks with a high level of computer-automated, environmental control. These tanks will be used to study the influence of root zone temperature and oxygenation on:

The development of the root disease pathogen, Pythium Aphanidermatum.
The growth of the plant in the absence or presence of this pathogen.

Alternative methods being considered include the effect of different nutrient solution pHs and soluble salt levels, adding biosurfactant (a surfactant produced by bacteria) to the nutrient solution, and the age of the plant at harvest. Preliminary studies with spinach indicate cooling the nutrient solution reduces the rate of infection.

The research project is funded by NYSERDA and NYSEG.