Effects of Rhizoctonia solani and crawfish waste on three common garden plants

Urban areas are considered the fastest growing land use and tend to have highly compacted soils difficult for urban trees to grow without stress to the roots. Incorporating crawfish waste meal with the soil could possibly reduce the compaction, amend the soil with nutrients and help improve the soil aeration. Crawfish production is a major source of income for many Louisiana's small farmers but only 15% of the crawfish is consumed and the rest is dumped in bayous, rivers, and swamps, polluting the environment. This study will evaluate the effect of soil compaction and crawfish waste meal on growth of sunflower plants. The highest average plant height of 88 cm was found in the soils with no compaction. There were significant differences in the root length among the treatments. This study shows crawfish waste meal in low and high concentrations increased the germination rate. Throughout the growth stages of leaf development, flowerbud and flowering, the application of the crawfish waste meal in the soil of sunflower plants did not show any significant differences from the control plants.;Urban plants are mostly obtained from nurseries and other commercial suppliers. It is important that suppliers provide disease free and healthy specimens. In Louisiana high humidity and warm temperatures is favorable to the fungal pathogen such as Rhizoctonia solani. This fungus is known for causing damping off in seedlings, web blight and wire stem disease in urban trees such as pine and azaleas. The effectiveness of the current disease control practices is not well documented. Hence, the objective of the study was to evaluate plant resistance to R. solani on broccoli and squash plants. There were significant differences among these treatments however the presence of the fungus in the plant or fruit was not confirmed. It can be concluded that the presence of the fungus is not detrimental to the plants chosen for this study. The results from both studies will contribute to the improvement of the health of the urban forest and the growth of sustainable agriculture in Louisiana.