Abstract
Containment basins (CB) are an integral part of recycling irrigation systems that foster agricultural sustainability through water resource conservation. However, little is known regarding this aquatic ecosystem and the lack of water quality data has become an increasingly serious liability in crop health management. Here we report on four distinct seasonal and two diurnal patterns of change in water quality in the CBs. The four seasonal patterns are (a) periodic fluctuation in chlorophyll a, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO), (b) oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) rises with decreasing DO, (c) tendency for increase in electrical conductivity, salinity, and total dissolved solids, and (d) weather-dependent changes in turbidity and temperature. The two diurnal patterns are (1) chlorophyll a, pH, DO, and temperature consistently peak between 16:00 and 17:00 hours and bottom out around 08:00 hours, and (2) ORP peaks in the morning and bottoms in the evening. Eight of the nine parameters excluding temperature were correlated; and algal blooms appear to be a major driving force for changes in the other seven parameters. These results underscore the importance of water quality monitoring in irrigation management and provide a framework for better understanding of pathogen aquatic ecology and how changes in water quality might be employed in a manner that suppresses plant pathogens and improves crop quality and productivity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Mughrabi KI, Nazer IK, Al-Shuraigq YT (1992) Effect of pH of water from the King Abdallah Canal in Jordan on the stability of cypermethrin. Crop Prot 11:341–344
Allen DJ, Nandra SS (1975) Effects of pH and calcium concentration of sporulation of Phytophthora isolates from agave. Plant Dis Reptr 59:555–558
Argo WR, Fisher RP (2002) Understanding pH management for container-grown crops. Meister Publishing Company, Willoughby
Benson DM (1984) Influence of pine bark, matric potential, and pH on sporangium production by Phytophthora cinnamomi. Phytopathology 74:1359–1363
Bewley WF, Buddin W (1921) On the fungus flora of glasshouse water supplies in relation to plant diseases. Ann Appl Biol 8:10–19
Blackwell E (1944) Species of Phytophthora as water moulds. Nature 153:496
Blaker NS, MacDonald JD (1983) Influence of container medium pH on sporangium formation, zoospore release, and infection of rhododendron by Phytophthora cinnamomi. Plant Dis 67:259–263
Buerge IJ, Poiger T, Muller MD, Buser HR (2003) Enantioselective degradation of metalaxyl in soils: chiral preference changes with soil pH. Environ Sci Technol 37:2668–2674
Bush EA, Hong CX, Stromberg EL (2003) Fluctuations of Phytophthora and Pythium spp. in components of a recycling irrigation system. Plant Dis 87:1500–1506
Bush EA, Stromberg EL, Hong CX, Richardson PA, Kong P (2006) Illustration of key morphological characteristics of Phytophthora species identified in Virginia nursery irrigation water. Plant Health Prog. doi:10.1094/PHP-2006-0621-01-RS
de Jonge H, de Jonge LW (1999) Influence of pH and solution composition on the sorption of glyphosate and prochloraz to a sand loan soil. Chemosphere 39:753–763
Diaz RJ, Rosenberg R (2008) Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science 321:926–929
Ekholm P, Mitikka S (2006) Agricultural lakes in Finland: current water quality and trends. Environ Monit Assess 116:111–135
Futagawa M, Rimando AM, Tellez MR, Wedge DE (2002) pH modulation of zopfiellin antifungal activity to Colletotrichum and Botrytis. J Agric Food Chem 50:7007–7012
Gardener DE, Hendrix FFJ (1973) Carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations in relation to survival and saprophytic growth of Pythium irregulare and Pythium vexans in soil. Can J Bot 51:1593–1598
Ghimire SR, Richardson PA, Moorman GW, Lea-Cox J, Ross DS, Hong CX (2006) Detection of Phytophthora species in a run-off water retention basin at a commercial nursery in plant hardiness zone 7b of Virginia in winter. Phytopathology 96:S40
Gregor J, Marsalek B (2004) Freshwater phytoplankton quantification by chlorophyll a: a comparative study of in vitro, in vivo and in situ methods. Water Res 38:517–522
Griffin DM, Nair NG (1968) Growth of Sclerotinia rolfsii at different concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide. J Exp Bot 19:812–816
Guo L (2007) Doing battle with the green monster of Taihu Lake. Science 317:1166
Hong CX, Moorman GW (2005) Plant pathogens in irrigation water: challenges and opportunities. Crit Rev Plant Sci 24:189–208
Hong CX, Richardson PA, Kong P (2003a) Decline in Phytophthora population with increasing distance from runoff water entrance in a retention pond. Phytopathology 93:S36
Hong CX, Richardson PA, Kong P, Bush EA (2003b) Efficacy of chlorine on multiple species of Phytophthora in recycled nursery irrigation water. Plant Dis 87:1183–1189
Hong CX, Richardson PA, Kong P (2008) Pathogenicity to ornamental plants of some existing species and new taxa of Phytophthora from irrigation water. Plant Dis 92:1201–1207
Ibe SN, Grogan RG (1983) Effect of controlled oxygen and carbon dioxide atmospheres on bacterial growth rate and soft rot of tomato fruits caused by Pseudomonas marginalis. Plant Dis 67:1005–1008
Imolehin ED, Grogan RG (1980) Effects of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene on growth, sclerotial produciton, germination, and infection by Sclerotinia minor. Phytopathology 70:1158–1161
Ioannou N, Schnerder RW, Grogan RG (1977) Effect of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene on growth, sporulation, and production of microsclerotia by Verticillium dahliae. Phytopathology 67:645–650
Kong P, Moorman GW, Lea-Cox JD, Ross DS, Richardson PA, Hong CX (2009) Zoosporic tolerance to pH stress and its implications for Phytophthora species in aquatic ecosystems. Appl Environ Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.00119-09
Lea-Cox JD, Ross DS (2001) Clean water policy and the rationale for developing a water and nutrient management process for container nursery and greenhouse operations. J Environ Hortic 19:230–236
Lea-Cox JD, Ross DS, Teffeau KM (2001) A water and nutrient management process for container nursery and greenhouse production systems. J Environ Hortic 19:226–229
Madramootoo CA, Johnston WR, Ayars JE, Evans RO, Fausey NR (2007) Agricultural drainage management, quality and disposal issues in North America. Irrig Drain 56:S35–S45
Mitchell DJ, Mitchell JE (1973) Oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration effects on the growth and reproduction of Aphanomyces euteiches and certain other soil-borne plant pathogens. Phytopathology 63:1053–1059
Mitchell DJ, Zentmyer GA (1971a) Effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions on growth of several species of Phytophthora. Phytopathology 61:787–791
Mitchell DJ, Zentmyer GA (1971b) Effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions on sporangium and oospore formation by Phytophthora spp. Phytopathology 61:807–811
Morris BM, Reid B, Gow NAR (1995) Tactic response of zoospores of the fungus Phytophthora palmivora to solutions of different pH in relation to plant infection. Microbiology 141:1231–1237
Muller T, Staimer N, Kubiak R (1998) Influence of soil pH and contents of organic carbon and clay on the volatilization of [C-14] fenpropimorph after application to bare soil. Pestic Sci 53:245–251
Oyler E, Bewley WF (1937) A disease of cultivated heaths caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands. Ann Appl Biol 24:1–16
Postel S (1992) Last oasis: facing water scarcity. W. W. Norton & Company, New York
Postel S (1996) Dividing the waters: food security, ecosystem health, and the new politics of scarcity. Worldwatch Institute, Washington
Richards A (2002) Coping with water scarcity: the governance challenge. Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California, Santa Cruz
Ristvey AG, Lea-Cox JD, Ross DS (2004) Nutrient uptake, partitioning and leaching losses from container-nursery production systems. Acta Hortic 630:321–328
Ristvey AG, Lea-Cox JD, Ross DS (2007) Nitrogen and phosphorus uptake-efficiency and partitioning of container grown azalea during spring growth. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 132:563–571
Sato N (1994) Effect of some inorganic salts and hydrogen ion concentration on indirect germination of the sporangia of Phytophthora infestans. Ann Phytopathol Soc Japan 60:441–447
Simpfendorfer S, Harden TJ, Murray GM (2001) Effect of temperature and pH on the growth and sporulation of Phytophthora clandestina. Aust Plant Pathol 30:1–5
Tafangenyasha C, Dube LT (2008) An investigation of the impacts of agricultural runoff on the water quality and aquatic organisms in a lowveld sand river system in Southeast Zimbabwe. Water Resour Manage 22:119–130
Taiz L, Zeiger E (2006) Plant physiology, 4th edn edn. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland
Tas DO, Pavlostathis SG (2007) Temperature and pH effect on the microbial reductive transformation of pentachloronitrobenzene. J Agric Food Chem 55:5390–5398
Valdez-Aguilar LA, Grieve CM, Poss J, Mellano MA (2009) Hypersensitivity of Ranunculus asiaticus to salinity and alkaline pH in irrigation water in sand cultures. HortScience 44:138–144
Wells JM (1974) Growth of Erwinia carotovora, E. atroseptica, and Pseudomonas fluorescens in low oxygen and high carbon dioxide atmospheres. Phytopathology 64:1012–1015
Wetzel RG (2001) Limnology: lake and river ecosystems. Academic, San Diego
White GC (1999) Handbook of chlorination and alternative disinfectants. Wiley-Interscience, New York
Yaeger T, Gilliam C, Bilderback T, Fare D, Niemiera A, Tilt K (1997) Best management practices (BMP): guide for producing container-grown plants. The Southern Nurserymen’s Association, Marietta
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by a grant (No. 2005-51101-02337) from the United States Department of Agriculture/Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service—Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program. We greatly appreciated the collaboration and support from two commercial nurseries to this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by J. Ayars.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hong, C., Lea-Cox, J.D., Ross, D.S. et al. Containment basin water quality fluctuation and implications for crop health management. Irrig Sci 27, 485–496 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-009-0161-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-009-0161-4