Effects on microflora of using naphthalene or X-rays to reduce arthropod populations in the field

Summary Naphthalene or X-rays are often used to test the effect on soil processes of reducing or eliminating arthropods. Naphthalene, however, is shown here to reduce radial growth significantly in eight out of nine basidiomycete fungi tested. X-ray treatment, which killed only 24% of Onychiurus latus Gisin (Collembola), significantly reduced the radial growth rate of one of two fungi tested. These techniques are likely to affect the composition of microbial communities and therefore should be used only with extreme caution in field manipulation experiments involving fauna-microflora interactions.Dedicated to the late Prof.Dr. M.S. Ghilarov