FACTORS INDUCING MINERAL-DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS ON THE POTATO PLANT

The data are based upon observations derived chiefly from twenty-four replicated manurial trials made on the potato crop in 1937 and from twenty-five further trials of a different design in 1938. They deal with the manurial and other factors that induce deficiency symptoms relating to potash, phosphates and calcium respectively on the potato plant. Leaf scorch, and the other potash-deficiency symptoms on the aerial part of the plant are normally induced by NP and not by nitrogen treatment. The presence of leaf scorch on the nitrogen plots in a number of trials has been satisfactorily correlated with a high level of available phosphates in the soil, as indicated both by a chemical test for phosphate solubility and the degrees of response to phosphate applications. An increase in the level of nitrogen in the NP treatment results in the intensification of potash-deficiency symptoms. A certain interaction between nitrogen and phosphates is shown to be the primary factor in inducing potash-deficiency symptoms on the part of the plant above ground. The blackening of cooked tubers which has hitherto been assumed to indicate potash deficiency has been found to result from a combination of high nitrogen with low potash in the soil. Phosphate deficiency is induced by nitrogen and NK treatments, but more strongly by the latter. Phosphate-deficiency symptoms and not potash-deficiency ones become evident on the nitrogen plants under conditions of low phosphates and low potash in the soil. Calciumdeficiency symptoms appeared at three centres on poor sandy soils with pH values ranging between 45 and 5. Observations failed to detect signs of magnesia deficiency on the plants at any centre and in either season. The results of this observation were borne out by the absence of significant yield responses to magnesia with one exception in each season.     

Effects of soil fumigation on soil nitrogen and on disease incidence in winter wheat

Winter wheat was grown in soil fumigated with D-D, 85% dazomet dust or formalin, and top-dressed with o or 125 kg nitrogen/ha. Six weeks after fumigation, there was much more ammonium nitrogen in fumigated than in unfumigated soil. Nitrate was also more after fumigation with dazomet, but less after D-D and formalin. After 5 months, only D-D plots had less nitrate and more total mineral nitrogen than unfumigated plots. Take-all (Ophiobolus graminis) was less prevalent in the first crop after dazomet or formalin, but was more prevalent in the second crop than after other treatments. Eyespot (Cercosporella herpotrichoides) was decreased only by formalin and only in the first crop after applying it. Fumigation had little effect on the incidence of other diseases recorded or on grain yield, except that yields were light on D-D plots in the first crop after fumigation, when ears were severely deformed.     

Field experiments in the control of Verticillium dahliae and Heterodera rostochiensis on potatoes

Potatoes were grown in soil infested with Verticillium dahliae and Heterodera rostochiensis and treated with methyl bromide, aldicarb or benomyl. Successive crops were grown in subsequent years on the same plots but without further treatment. Largest yields in the year of treatment were from plots fumigated with methyl bromide but in the second crop benomyl-treated plots yielded most. Neither methyl bromide nor aldicarb affected yields from trie third crop. After lifting the first crop, soil from plots treated with methyl bromide or benomyl contained less V. dahliae than that from plots receiving aldicarb or nothing. Soil was also less infective after the second crop following methyl bromide fumigation, but not the third. Plots treated with methyl bromide or aldicarb contained many fewer H. rostochiensis than untreated plots after the first crop, slightly less after the second and equal numbers after the third crop. H. rostochiensis were also fewer in benomyl-treated plots than in untreated after the first crop, but, surprisingly, were fewest after the second crop. The increased yield after applying benomyl to soil seems to depend more on its effect on H. rostochiensis than on V. dahliae. Fumigating with methyl bromide decreased common scab and black scurf on progeny tubers but increased infections by Oospora pustulans.     

Studies onAzotobacter species in soil

Summary Methods for countingAzotobacter species in soil have been examined. The highest counts were obtained from soil suspensions shaken in sterile distilled water containing 10-g glass beads and plated on to glucose agar. Mannitol has been rejected as a suitable substrate in agar media because it gives lower counts of Azotobacter than glucose, an effect which is further enhanced by drying the agar plates. A clear medium free from precipitated phosphate and CaCO₃ is recommended for the agar-plate method; the Azotobacter count is affected by the phosphate concentration.The agar-plate and dilution-tube methods were compared; the latter is less accurate but more convenient when many soil samples have to be examined.     

Roots,soil water and crop yield: tree crop interactions in a semi-arid agroforestry system in Kenya

Variations in soil water, crop yield and fine roots of 3–4 year-old Grevillea robusta Cunn. and Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. growing in association with maize (Zea mays L.) were examined in semiarid Kenya during the long rains of 1996 and 1997. Even although tree roots penetrated more deeply than maize roots, maximum root length densities for both tree species and maize occurred in the top 200 mm of the soil profile where soil moisture was frequently recharged by rains. Populations of roots in plots containing trees were dominated by tree roots at the beginning of the growing season but because tree roots died and maize root length increased during the cropping season, amounts of tree and maize roots were similar at the end of the season. Thus, there was evidence of temporal separation of root activity between species, but there was no spatial separation of the rooting zones of the trees and crops within that part of the soil profile occupied by crop roots. Tree root length density declined with increasing distances from rows of trees and with depth in the soil profile. Although Grevillea trees were largest, plots containing G. sepium trees always contained more tree roots than plots containing G. robusta trees and Gliricidia was more competitive with maize than Grevillea. Overall, Gliricidia reduced crop yield by about 50% and Grevillea by about 40% relative to crop yield in control plots lacking trees and reductions of crop yield were greatest close to trees. There was less soil moisture in plots containing trees than in control plots. Such difference between control plots and plots containing trees were maximal at the end of the dry season and there was always less soil moisture close to trees than elsewhere in the plots. Plots containing Gliricidia trees contained less soil water than plots containing Grevillea trees.     

Early regeneration of Calluna heathland under various fertilization treatments

Summary A sod-cutting and fertilization experiment was performed on a Calluna-dominated heathland in The Netherlands to determine appropriate management regimes for Calluna regeneration, and to further understand the nutrient responses of heathland species. Replicated permanent plots were analysed by multivariate techniques. Sod-cutting alone caused Calluna regeneration from its soil seed bank. A single fertilization at the start of the experiment caused initial vegetation differences which disappeared after a few years as the nutrients were lost from the system, except that one application of nitrogen enhanced the rate of Calluna regeneration. Repeated fertilization caused large differences in the vegetation: repeated nitrogen enhanced several bryophyte species while greatly inhibiting Calluna, repeated phosphate partly inhibited Calluna while greatly favouring several lichen species, and the most striking result of repeated calcium was also an increase in bryophytes, but the species were different from those favoured by nitrogen. Treatments which inhibited Calluna tended to increase species diversity because of the lessened Calluna dominance.     

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria in egyptian soils and their possible contribution to soil fertility

Summary Azotobacter and nitrogen-fixing clostridia are ubiquitous soil inhabitants in Egypt, Iraq and probably in all of the Near East. They occur in high numbers except where barrenness, NaCl accumulation or other depressing factors exist. The soil environment has proved favourable for their development since their response to supplementation with energy materials is quite marked. The organisms are resistant to drought, but optimal activity of Azotobacter is around 60% W.H.C. while that of clostridia is at 100%. Azotobacter as well as clostridia show optimal activity around 30°C, higher temperatures favour clostridia while lower ones favour Azotobacter. Gains of soil nitrogen are linked to the growth of Azotobacter rather than to that of Clostridium. The amounts of nitrogen gained and fixation efficiency are affected by the nature of the substrate, being greatest in clay, then in sand and calcareous soils and least in liquid media. Phosphate is essential, favouring nitrogen fixation firstly by satisfying the high phosphate requirement of Azotobacter and secondly by increasing the rate of decomposition of otherwise unavailable material. Gains of combined nitrogen and fixation efficiency are also affected by the type of organic matter added. A wide C/N ratio and susceptibility to decomposition are specially beneficial properties. Plant residues enrich the soil with nitrogen, partly by enhancing nitrogen fixation and partly by causing immobilization of mineral nitrogen which would otherwise be leached out of the soil by irrigation.     

Studies of the cereal cyst-nematode, Heterodera avenae under continuous cereals, 1974–1978. I. Plant growth and nematode multiplication

Population changes of Heterodera avenae and crop growth in a sandy loam soil were studied from 1974 until 1978; the nematode decreased plant growth but failed in two of the years to multiply on susceptible hosts. Spring oats were the most heavily invaded cereal and produced the smallest shoots. Second-stage juveniles invaded cereal roots in decreasing numbers: spring oats > autumn oats > spring barley > spring wheat > autumn barley > autumn wheat. Numbers of females developing on the different cultivars were in a similar order. Most females developed on roots in 1976 despite poor crop growth in the severe drought. Numbers of H. avenae in soil treated with oxamyl (Vydate) at 8.8 kg/ha a. i. were less in all years except 1975. In the dry winter and spring of 1975/76 nematode multiplication was prevented in soil treated with oxamyl before drilling in the autumn. In all years large numbers of females were produced on the roots of all cultivars but in 1975 and 1978 nematode populations declined because few females survived to form cysts containing eggs and their fecundity was reduced. Numbers of cysts after harvest were not affected by formalin (38% formaldehyde) applied as a drench at 3000 litres/ha in 1977 but fecundity doubled in treated soil, and nematode multiplication increased from 3.8 × in untreated plots to 18.6 ×. When the plots were irrigated in 1978 numbers of cysts and fecundity increased in formalin treated soil resulting in an increase in multiplication from 0.3 × to 14.6 ×. Fungal parasites attacking H. avenae females and eggs are considered responsible for the poor multiplication of the nematode.     

Experiments on nitrogen fixation by nodulated lucerne

Summary Field experiments at five sites (two on clay loam, two on a sandy soil and one on chalky loam) compared dry-matter yields and nitrogen contents of lucerne and ryegrass. These tested Rhizobium inoculation and fertilizer treatments in an experimental design proposed by Vincent and Nutman (IBP 69(66), amended 57/68). The crop and inoculation treatments (using large inocula of effective or ineffective strains) were set out in strips across each site to minimise contamination, and the fertilizer treatments (nitrogen, limeetc.) distributed at random within strips. This proved satisfactory and allowed valid statistical analysis. The massive inoculation with the ineffective strain suppressed the few naturally occurring effectiveR. meliloti at some of the sites, and provided a basis of comparison for assessing the amounts of nitrogen fixed by the native strains and by the introduced effective strains. However, it did so only during the first year because the introduced ineffective strains were overgrown by effective strains in the second year. Hence, ryegrass without nitrogen fertilizer was a better measure of the amounts of nitrogen obtainable from the soil. Estimates of fixation ranged from 0 to more than 300 kg N ha⁻¹ at the different sites, treatment comparisons indicating the main factors limiting fixation. Parallel experiments were done using a soil core technique described by Vincent. These gave very similar results to the field trials in their first years. Studies of the changes in the populations ofR. meliloti in the field trial plots and soil cores gave information on the effects of crop and fertilizers on numbers and effectiveness of isolates and was useful in interpreting the results.     

Autecology of Bradyrhizobium japonicum in soybean-rice rotations

The effect of rice culture on changes in the number of a strain of soybean root-nodule bacteria, (Bradyrhizobium japonicum CB1809), already established in the soil by growing inoculated soybean crops, was investigated in transitional red-brown earth soils at two sites in south-western New South Wales. At the first site, 5.5 years elapsed between the harvest of the last of four successive crops of soybean and the sowing of the next. In this period three crops of rice and one crop of triticale were sown and in the intervals between these crops, and after the crop of triticale, the land was fallowed. Before sowing the first rice crop, the number of Bradyrhizobium japonicum was 1.32×10⁵ g^–1 soil. The respective numbers of bradyrhizobia after the first, second and third rice crops were 4.52 ×10⁴, 1.26×10⁴ and 6.40×10² g^–1 soil. In the following two years the population remained constant. Thus sufficient bradyrhizobia survived in soil to nodulate and allow N₂-fixation by the succeeding soybean crop. At the second site, numbers of bradyrhizobia declined during a rice crop, but the decline was less than when the soil was fallowed (400-fold cf. 2200-fold). Multiplication of bradyrhizobia was rapid in the rhizosphere of soybean seedlings sown without inoculation in the rice bays. At 16 days after sowing, their numbers were not significantly different (p<0.05) from those in plots where rice had not been sown. Nodulation of soybeans was greatest in plots where rice had not been grown, but yield and grain nitrogen were not significantly different (p<0.05). Our results indicate that flooding soil has a deleterious effect on the survival of bradyrhizobia but, under the conditions of the experiments, sufficient B. japonicum strain CB 1809 survived to provide good nodulation after three crops of rice covering a total period of 5.5 years between crops of soybean.     

Effects of ammonium-N on development and infectivity of the take-all fungus

Effects of applications of a mixture of ammonium sulphate and mono-ammonium phosphate and of ammonium nitrate on the incidence of take-all disease of wheat (caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) and on subsequent inoculum levels were studied in field and glasshouse experiments. In a field experiment in Western Australia, on a sandy soil at pH 5·4, nitrogen applications had no detectable effect on disease severity at anthesis, but ammonium sulphate treatment increased the number of propagules of the pathogen in the soil. In a pot experiment, in which seed was sown in the field experiment soils, disease was greater in soil from plots treated with ammonium sulphate and least in soil from the nil-nitrogen plots, reflecting the respective inoculum levels in the field plot. However, treatment of the soils of lower inoculum with ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate during this pot experiment decreased disease. A second pot experiment confirmed the effectiveness of ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate in reducing take-all at lower inoculum levels, and their ineffectiveness at higher inoculum levels.     

芦苇克隆整合对石油污染湿地土壤微生物群落结构和生物量的影响

克隆植物形体相连的无性个体(分株)之间可以进行水分、养分和光合产物的传递和共享,并且这种克隆整合可以显著提高分株对环境胁迫的耐受能力,从而可能进一步影响分株周围的土壤微生物群落结构和生物量。尽管国内外已经开展了大量有关克隆整合对分株耐受胁迫能力影响的研究,但克隆整合对土壤微生物群落结构和生物量影响的研究却十分缺乏。以黄河三角洲芦苇(Phragmites australis)湿地生态系统为研究对象,将直径60 cm的圆形样方进行三个水平的石油添加处理(不添加石油或每年添加5 mm或10 mm厚的石油),同时通过切断或不切断样方内外芦苇根状茎的连接来控制克隆整合的有无。实验连续开展了两年(2014—2015年),每年8月份在样方内进行土壤样品取样,在实验室内采用磷酸脂肪酸(PLFA)法测定土壤微生物总量及主要微生物类群含量,并测定土壤微生物生物量碳和氮含量。取样时间显著影响土壤微生物PLFA总量、微生物碳和氮含量,这3个变量在2015年均显著高于2014年。石油添加在2015年显著增加了土壤微生物PLFA总量,但在2014年却无显著效应;同时,石油添加在2014年降低了土壤微生物碳和氮含量,而在2015年却增加了其含量。然而,无论在2014年还是2015年,芦苇的克隆整合对土壤微生物PLFA含量、微生物碳和氮含量均没有显著影响。土壤微生物PLFA总量与土壤微生物碳和氮含量呈正相关关系。这些结果表明,石油污染可以显著影响湿地土壤微生物动态,但克隆整合却无显著效应。     

Gnotobiotic cultures of rice plants up to ear stage in the absence of combined nitrogen source but in the presence of free living nitrogen fixing bacteriaAzotobacter vinelandii andRhodopseudomonas capsulata

Summary An all glass tight growth chamber, entirely sterilizable, has been constructed to carry out axenic and gnotobiotic cultures of rice plants (Oryza sativa L.). When grown in liquid medium and in the absence of combined nitrogen but in the presence of the diazotrophsAzotobacter vinelandii andRhodopseudomonas capsulata, rice plants exhibited a complete biological cycle from germination up to ear stage, during a period of time similar to the one encountered in french paddy soil of Camargue. In one experiment, mannitol was given to rice culture medium together withAzotobacter vinelandii andRhodopseudomonas capsulata. In another experiment, mannitol was not given together with Rhodopseudomonas, and still positive nitrogen gain was obtained, although it was less than culture with mannitol. When¹⁵N labeled cells of Rhodopseudomonas were added in rice culture medium,¹⁵N was partly transferred to rice plant. Among the nitrogen substances excreted from the bacteria in the rhizosphere medium, large organic molecules were shown to be the most abundant in our experimental conditions. Moreover, the concentration of free ammonia or aminoacids present in the rice rhizosphere were always compatible with a bacterial nitrogenase activity.     

The Effects of Crop Rotation and Nitrogen Fertilization on Soil Chemical and Microbial Properties in a Guinea Savanna Alfisol of Nigeria

The impacts of crop rotation and inorganic nitrogen fertilization on soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) and N (SMBN) and water-soluble organic C (WSOC) were studied in a Guinea savanna Alfisol of Nigeria. In 2001, fields of grain legumes (soybean and cowpea), herbaceous legume (Centrosema pascuorum) and a natural fallow were established. In 2002, maize was planted with N fertilizer rates of 0, 20, 40 and 60 kg N ha⁻¹ in a split-plot arrangement fitted to a randomized complete block design with legumes and fallow as main plots and N fertilizer levels as subplots. Surface soil samples were taken at 4 weeks after planting and tasselling stage of the maize. Inorganic N fertilization had no significant (P>0.05) effect on SMBC, SMBN and WSOC, while crop rotation significantly (P<0.0001) affected both SMBC and WSOC. These results demonstrate that crop rotation do not necessarily influence the gross soil microbial biomass, but may affect physiologically distinct subcomponent of the microbial biomass. The soils under the various rotations had a predominance of fungi community as indicated by their wide biomass C/N ratio ranging from 9.2 to 20.9 suggesting fungi to be mainly responsible for decomposition in these soils. Soil microbial biomass and WSOC showed significant (P<0.05) correlation with both soil pH and organic carbon but no relationship with total N. Based on these results, it appears that the soil pH and organic carbon determined the flux of the soil microbial biomass and amount of WSOC in these soils.     

The influence of crop rotation and soil fumigation on a mycorrhizal fungal community associated with soybean

Population densities of mycorrhizal fungal propagules in a western Kentucky field highly productive for soybean were measured by bioassay throughout a soybean production season. The primary experimental variables were crop rotation (soybeans in 1985, then 2 years in corn, milo, fescue, or soybean, then soybean in 1988 on all plots when populations of propagules were determined) and soil fumigation with 67% methyl bromide/33% chloropicrin. Of the 20 species in three genera found, Glomus predominated both in terms of number of species and population densities. Most species of Glomus occurred at higher population densities in rotated plots than in continuous soybean plots. In continuous soybean plots, species of Gigaspora made up a much higher proportion of the mycorrhizal fungal community than in rotated crops. Species richness and diversity were lower, and dominance and equitability higher, in nonfumigated continuous soybean plots than in rotated plots early in the season, but the differences were not present at the end of the season. Soil fumigation killed most propagules in the upper 15 cm of soil, but after production of a crop of soybeans, populations of total propagules and most Glomus spp. recovered to prefumigation densities. However, Gigaspora margarita and Gigaspora gigantea did not recover similarly. Fumigation reduced species richness and diversity and increased dominance, but the effects were ameliorated by the end of the season. Colonization of roots was low during vegetative growth but increased rapidly after the onset of soybean reproduction. There was no evidence for mutualism during the early half of the season, perhaps due to high soil P and low dependency of soybean. Fumigation increased soybean yields. A stable mycorrhizal fungal community appeared to become established with continuous soybean production, and both crop rotation and soil fumigation disrupted the community.     

The Formation of Artificial Nitrogen-Fixing Symbioses with Rape (Brassica napusvar. napus) Plants in Nonsterile Soil

The treatment of rape plants grown in nonsterile soil with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (auxin-like growth-promoting substance) or their inoculation with the bacterial association Micrococcussp. + Rhodococcussp. and/or with the mixed nitrogen-fixing culture Azotobacter nigricans+ Bacillussp. led to the formation of paranodules on the rape roots. The introduced bacteria were detected both in the intercellular space and inside the cells of the paranodules and the rape roots. The nitrogen-fixing activity of the paranodulated plants was two times higher than that of the inoculated plants lacking paranodules and five times higher than that of the control (i.e., not inoculated) plants. The paranodulation led to a 40% increase in the crop yield of rape plants and provided for a statistically significant increase in the total nitrogen as well as protein nitrogen contents of the plants.     

Soil organic matter and the indigenous nitrogen supply of intensive irrigated rice systems in the tropics

Soil organic matter (SOM) has been proposed as an index of N supply in paddy soils although field validations are few. We evaluated the relationship between the indigenous N supply (N _i ) of the soil-floodwater system and soil organic carbon (SOC) or total N (N _t ) in surface soil of long-term fertility experiments (LTFEs) at 11 sites, in 42 farmer's fiels with similar soil type, and in the same field in ten consecutive rice (Oryza sativa L.) crops. The N _i was estimated by crop N uptake from plots without applied N (N _o plots) under otherwise favorable growth conditions. There was a tight linear correlation between yields and N uptake in N _o plots and tremendous variation in both parameters among LTFE sites, farmer's fields, and in the same field over time. Correlation between N _i and SOC or N _t explained little of this variation. Factors likely to contribute to the poor correlation were: (1) inputs of N from sources other than N mineralization of SOM in surface soil, (2) degree of congruence between soil N supply and crop demand, which is sensitive to soil drying, length of fallow, crop rotation, and residue management, and (3) differences in SOM quality related to intensive cropping in submerged soil. Better understanding of the processes governing the N _i of tropical lowland rice systems would contribute to the development of crop management practices that optimize utilization of indigenous N resources.     

Rotation of maize with cowpea improves yield and nutrient use of maize compared to maize monocropping in an alfisol in the northern Guinea Savanna of Ghana

In the northern Guinea Savanna of Ghana (1984–1987) a field experiment was conducted to study the reasons for beneficial effects of rotating maize (Zea mays) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) on yield and N and P use of maize. The treatments included two cropping systems, maize monocropping and maize/cowpea rotation, two levels of nitrogen (0 and 80 kg N ha^-1 as urea) and two levels of phosphorus application (0 and 60 kg ha^-1 P as Volta phosphate rock). Yields and nutrient accumulation of maize were larger in rotation than in monocropping, independent of the N and P level. Fertilizer application (N and P) increased yields of maize in both cropping systems to the same extent. Nitrate contents of the soil after cowpea and after maize monoculture were comparable at the beginning of the cropping period. Also, potential nitrogen mineralization was only slightly larger after cowpea in the unfertilized plots. However, soil nitrate of fertilized plots was similar or even higher under monocropping than under crop rotation, especially in deeper soil layers and at the end of the cropping period. This indicates that in addition to the availability of mineral N, its use by the plants was limiting for the productivity of maize. Root length densities of maize were significant lower in monocropped maize than in maize grown in rotation. Soil physical parameters (infiltration, bulk density, aggregate stability and water capacity) showed a significant deterioration compared to a bush fallow plot, but differed only slightly between the cropping systems. Also in a pot experiment maize growth was much better in the soil from the crop rotation than from the monocropping plots, provided P was eliminated as the main growth-limiting factor. Since this effect persisted in spite of N application and optimization of soil physical properties by mixing the soil with polystyrol it is concluded that the results indicate that yield decline in maize monocropping might be due to allelopathic effects.     

Total nitrogen uptake by maize with Azotobacter inoculation

Summary The economic feasibility of using cultures of nitrogen fixing microorganisms in programmes to increase crop production, as a selfgenerating source of nitrogen, has been proved beyond doubtviz. Legume-Rhizobium symbiosis and blue green algal ‘fertilizer’ for rice. The extent to which the free living, N-fixing, aerobic, heterotropicAzotobacter chroococcum could replace the application of nitrogenous fertilizer to maize was investigatedin vivo. Total nitrogen uptake (kg ha⁻¹) by maize after inoculation with Azotobacter combined with moderate applications of nitrogen fertilizer and farmyard manure was influenced significantly and resulted in a higher nitrogen concentration in grain and stover along with a higher yield. Part of Ph.D. Thesis     

Effects of potnetial trap crops and planting date on soil infestation with potato cyst nematodes and root-knot nematodes

In 1997 and 1998 the stimulation of hatch of potato cyst nematodes (PCN) by a trap crop was studied at various times during the growing season in a container and a field experiment. Solanum nigrum‘90‐4750‐188’was used as the trap crop in both experiments and was sown on 1 May, 16 June or 1 August in two successive years on different plots. Neither experiment revealed much seasonal variation in hatchability of PCN juveniles under a trap crop. In the container experiment, the hatch of the Globodera pallida Pa3 population was equally and strongly stimulated (89%) at all sowing dates in both years, except for the 1 August sowing in 1998 (when the hatch was 77% under extremely wet soil conditions). In the control treatment with non‐hosts (flax followed by barley) the total spontaneous hatch was 50% over 2 yr. In the field experiment, the hatch of PCN, averaged over the four populations, was also equally stimulated (71%) at all sowing dates in both years. In the control treatment with non‐hosts (flax‐barley) the total spontaneous hatch was 36% over 2 yr. Total hatch under the trap crop over 2 yr varied between the four PCN populations from 63% to 80%. In 1998 and 1999, control of potato cyst nematodes (PCN) by the potential trap crops Solanum sisymbriifolium and S. nigrum‘90‐4750‐188’was studied in the field. Potato was also included as a trap crop. In the 1998 experiment, potato, S. sisymbriifolium and S. nigrum strongly stimulated the hatch of PCN compared with the non‐host white mustard (Sinapis alba). Roots of potato and white mustard were mainly found in the top 10 cm of soil, whereas roots of S. sisymbriifolium and S. nigrum were also abundant at depths of 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm. In the 1999 experiment, soil infestation with PCN decreased markedly with potato and S. sisymbriifolium as trap crops. In plots moderately to severely infested with 2‐yr old cysts (2–29 juveniles ml^?1 air dried soil), potato reduced soil infestation by 87% and S. sisymbriifolium by 77%. In plots moderately to severely infested with 1‐yr old cysts the reductions were 74% and 60%, respectively. The reduction was least on plots very severely infested with PCN (110–242 juveniles ml^?1 soil): 69% and 52% for potato and S. sisymbriifolium, respectively. Soil infestations of plots that were initially slightly to severely infested with the root‐knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla were greatly reduced under fallow and S. sisymbriifolium but increased under potato. From these and previous experiments it was concluded that, for several reasons, S. sisymbriifolium is a promising trap crop.