MeloCon WG+ and SoilGard 12G+ used in a program as a methyl bromide alternative to control nematodes and soil borne diseases in fruiting vegetables

With the advent of the Montreal Accord of 2007 on restricting ozone depleting gases, and as a result of further state led restrictions, the use of methyl bromide and other fumigants in agriculture has been on a steady decline. As such effective and safe alternative treatments are being investigated, labeled and used in commercial production. The loss of fumigants is especially deleterious to the production of fruiting vegetables, primarily tomatoes and peppers, in the southeastern US, where soil borne diseases and nematodes can be of particular concern. A program of MeloCon+ WG and SoilGard+ 12 G, marketed by Certis USA, have been shown to be very effective when used alone or in combination to control nematodes and soil pathogens in field trials in the US. MeloCon+ WG is a naturally occurring and beneficial soil fungus (Paecilomyces lilacinus strain 251) that controls a wide range of plant parasitic nematodes. MeloCon+ WG has been shown in replicated field trials to control both southern root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) and stubby root nematodes (Trichodorus spp. and Paratrichodorus spp.), as well as many others. SoilGard+ 12G is also a naturally occurring and beneficial soil fungus (Gliocladium (Trichoderma) virens strain GL-21) that controls a wide range of soil borne pathogens, including southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii), Fusarium crown rot, and pepper blight (Phytophthora capsici). Replicated field trials using tomatoes with these products in conjunction with soil applied herbicides resulted in improved plant growth, increased survival, and increased yields, similar to methyl bromide and other chemical standards.