Slow sand filtration for elimination of phytopathogens in water used in forest nurseries

Abstract

Irrigation water from natural sources can be contaminated by fungi, Oomycota, or bacteria capable of causing serious diseases in seedlings in forest nurseries. Slow sand filtration (SSF) is a cost-effective technique for water decontamination prior to irrigation. The aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of SSF as a means of eliminating plant pathogens including Pythium sterilum, Fusarium solani, Xanthomonas campestris, Pseudomonas syringae pv. Syringae and Rhizobium radiobacter from the lake water source used for irrigation. The applied SSF was effective in removing 80–90% of fungal and Oomycota inoculum as well as 70% of the bacteria in the investigated water. Therefore, SSF represents a practical step to lowering the use of pesticides during production of planting stocks in forest nurseries and a valuable element in an integrated plant protection system.

Keywords:

• microbial community
• biofilm
• slow sand filtration
• pathogen removal
• irrigation water

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Polish National Foundation for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Poland through the project: “Filters in closed water circulation systems in forest nurseries as a method of elimination parasitic and quarantine organisms from plant seedlings” [grant number 27-U-15]; the National Science Center, Poland through the project “The impact of selected environmental factors on the removal of water phytopathogens” [grant number NN 309712440].