Influence of Tillage and Fertilizer Regime on Presence of Select Pathogenic Organisms in a Silt Loam Soil.

Varying tillage and fertilizer applications in corn research plots have been ongoing for the past ten years.  The research is being conducted in a split plot design where tillage is the primary factor and the fertilizer source is the secondary factor.  Tillage treatments are conventional tillage (CT) or No-Till (NT), and fertility treatments were ½ poultry litter + ½ inorganic (HL), full poultry litter (FL), and inorganic (I).  Presence of select pathogenic organisms (Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Pantoea) within these plots was detected through DNA isolation and PCR and subsequently analyzed with respect to tillage/fertilizer regime.  Pathogenic organism inoculum levels have been quantified for each treatment.