Effect of Soil Temperature and Moisture on the Survival ofMucor piriformis

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Abstract
Temperature was a more important factor than moisture in affecting survival of sporangiospores of Mucor piriformis [California isolate (CA), Chile isolate (CH)]. In a Reiff loam soil, sporangiospores showed longest survival at 0 and 21 C and least survival at 36 and 39 C. Sporangiospores survived better in dry (-1,300 bars matric potential) than in wet (-0.3 bar matric potential) or wet-dry soil (-0.3 to -1,300 bars matric potential) at all temperatures except 0, 36, and 39 C. Viability of propagules (mycelia and spores) of M. piriformis mixed with soil and buried 5 and 10 cm deep in this soil at Davis, and in a Hanford fine sandy loam at Parlier, CA, declined over time in a exponential fashion. At Davis, where weekly mean temperatures of soil were lower than 27 C, spores of both isolates survived up to 1 yr. In contrast, at Parlier, where weekly mean temperatures of soil were higher than 27 C, the decline of propagule viability was faster and only the CA isolate buried at 10-cm depth survived for a year. Similarly, on inoculated and mummified peaches buried 5 cm deep in soil, the CA isolate after 9 and 20 mo. respectively, for Parlier and Cavis locations. Microsopic observation of colonies of M. piriformis from propagules surviving a year in soil revealed that all colonies originated from sporangiospores. Mycelia buried in soil survived 40 and 21 days under laboratory and field conditions, respectively.

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