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Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications

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A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 14528

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vitale

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant diseases; phytopathogenic fungi; plant protection; biological control agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Rosario Paolo Mauro

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: agronomic management in horticulture and floriculture; breeding of horticultural crops; crop physiology; vegetables quality; secondary metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Ivana Castello

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant pathogens; phytopathogenic fungi; tomato and grape diseases; biological control; fungicide resistance; integrated and sustainable management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, plant infections incited by soil borne pathogens represent a severe threat for many commercial crops, because they are able to cause increasing losses in yield and quality. They comprise damping-off of seedlings and vascular and root rot diseases, and the causal agents include fungi, oomycetes, some bacteria, nematodes, viruses (carried by different vectors) and parasitic weeds. Although very dissimilar, they share a common character related to close association with the soil, which plays in turn a direct influence on their survival and ability to cause disease, impacting also on agronomic practices to manage the soil environment. Moreover, soil borne pathogens are able to colonize tissues of non-host plants and have different modes for their spatial and temporal spreading. Due to favorable global climatic changes and international law restrictions for chemical molecules employment, the control of soil borne diseases is becoming hard and challenging. Rational management strategies should include any possible disturbance action to one or more of the disease factors to achieve a significant reduction of infections.

In this regard, this Special Issue welcomes original research papers, short communications, and review articles regarding basic and applied research in all new aspects of soil borne pathogens and their biological control. A better understanding of new facets and agronomic implications of applications of innovative biological means (e.g., biocontrol agents, hypovirulence, suppressive media, biological inducers of plant resistance, etc.) for integrated pest management could contribute to achieving an effective management of soil borne plant pathogens while simultaneously maintaining satisfactory agronomic production from a quantitative and qualitative viewpoint.

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vitale
Dr. Rosario Paolo Mauro
Dr. Ivana Castello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

soil borne plant pathogens
soil suppressiveness
biological control means
crops yield
product quality

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 7247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential of Nonthermal Atmospheric-Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma for Inhibition of Athelia rolfsii Causing Southern Blight Disease in Lettuce

by Salit Supakitthanakorn, On-Uma Ruangwong, Choncharoen Sawangrat, Wimada Srisuwan and Dheerawan Boonyawan

Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 167; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture13010167 - 09 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1743

Abstract

Athelia rolfsii is one of the most destructive and aggressive fungal pathogens worldwide and causes southern blight disease of lettuce. A nonthermal atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has attracted interest as an alternative control method to chemical usage because of its antimicrobial activity. Exposure of A. rolfsii to DBD plasma for 5, 10, 15, and 20 min resulted in in vitro fungal inhibition of mycelial discs and sclerotia. The results showed that DBD plasma exposure for 10 min completely inhibited fungal growth of mycelial discs, whereas exposure for over 20 min was required to inhibit the hyphal growth of sclerotia. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of mycelia and sclerotia abnormalities revealed laceration and damage of both mycelia and sclerotia. In addition, disease incidence and severity were reduced in mycelial and sclerotia inoculation following DBD plasma exposure for 15 and 20 min, respectively, compared with the positive control. In conclusion, the DBD plasma demonstrates antifungal activity against A. rolfsii via inhibition of fungal growth and reduction in disease incidence and severity. Therefore, DBD plasma has the potential to be applied in controlling southern blight disease of lettuce. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)

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12 pages, 1768 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seed Coating with Trichoderma harzianum T-22 of Italian Durum Wheat Increases Protection against Fusarium culmorum-Induced Crown Rot

by Antonella Vitti, Vincenzo Bevilacqua, Giuseppina Logozzo, Rocco Bochicchio, Mariana Amato and Maria Nuzzaci

Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 714; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12050714 - 18 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2985

Abstract

Changes in root organization and colonization could be relevant for wheat’s (Triticum durum Desf.) response to F. culmorum-induced crown rot disease (FCR). We investigated the biocontrol and biostimulant efficiency of seeds coated with T. harzianum T-22 (T-22) of four tetraploid wheat seedlings (ancient Saragolle Lucana and modern Creso, Simeto, and Ciclope). In an in vitro experiment, T-22 repressed F. culmorum mycelium growth by over 50% due to the probable combination of competition for nutrients, mycoparasitism, and antibiosis. The seed germination rate was not significantly affected by T-22 while the F. culmorum-induced decrease in emergence was attenuated in the presence of T-22. Ultimately, an improvement in growth was observed by comparing treated and control seedlings at 21 days after sowing. Inoculation with T-22 resulted in Saragolle Lucana seedlings being 4.69 cm higher while Ciclope and Simeto had main roots that were 9.96 and 8.13 cm longer than the control, respectively. Treated and infected Simeto seedlings were 3.75 cm higher and had roots that were 14.45 cm longer than the control, with little contemporary dense coiling colonization by T-22, like Saragolle Lucana. Seed coating induced the best performance regarding seedling growth and the ability to control the pathogen in Simeto (disease severity reduction rate (DDR) of 20%). The pathogenicity of F. culmorum was reduced in all four durum wheats, although it was highly susceptible to FCR. Ciclope, studied for the first time, showed a decrease in disease incidence from 100 ± 0.00% to 56.67 ± 9.13% and a 30% DDR. The seed coating influenced the seedlings’ response to FCR due to T-22’s different colonization actions. This study provides new explanations for the diverse responses of ancient and modern tetraploid wheat to F. culmorum mediated by T-22 inoculation via seed coating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)

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15 pages, 2301 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Survey of Oomycetes Associated with Root and Crown Rot of Almond in Spain and Pathogenicity of Phytophthora niederhauserii and Phytopythium vexans to ‘Garnem’ Rootstock

by Francisco Beluzán, Xavier Miarnau, Laura Torguet, Josep Armengol and Paloma Abad-Campos

Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 294; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12020294 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3268

Abstract

From 2018 to 2020, surveys of oomycetes associated with root and crown rot of almond (Prunus dulcis) were conducted on diseased young almond trees in commercial orchards and nurseries in six provinces of Spain. A total of 104 oomycete isolates were obtained from plant and soil samples, which h were identified by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Diverse species belonging to the genera Globisporangium, Phytophthora, Phytopythium and Pythium were found, Phytopythium vexans and Phytophthora niederhauserii being the most frequent. The pathogenicity of these two species to one-year-old almond seedlings of ‘Garnem’ (P. dulcis × P. persica) rootstock was studied. All seedlings inoculated with Pp. vexans and Ph. niederhauserii isolates showed severe symptoms at the late stage of the pathogenicity test (defoliation, wilting and dieback) and several plants died. Some isolates of Ph. niederhauserii significantly reduced the dry weight of the roots compared with the control, but this effect was not observed in seedlings inoculated with Pp. vexans. These results provide new information about the oomycete species present in almond crops in Spain and highlight the importance of carrying out frequent phytosanitary surveys for a better knowledge of potential risks posed by these soil-borne pathogens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)

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12 pages, 1088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management of Chrysanthemum Verticillium Wilt through VIF Soil Mulching Combined with Fumigation at Label and Reduced Rates

by Ivana Castello, Alessandro D’Emilio, Andrea Baglieri, Giancarlo Polizzi and Alessandro Vitale

Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 141; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12020141 - 21 Jan 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2095

Abstract

Pre-plant soil fumigation for managing soilborne pathogens is practiced worldwide in several intensive ornamental and vegetable production areas. However, global regulations are currently implemented to minimize use of these chemicals. According to these policies, the efficacies of dazomet (DZ, Basamid Granulat^®) applied alone to soil and under virtually impermeable film (VIF) at reduced (247.5 kg ha⁻¹ a.i.) and label (495 kg ha⁻¹ a.i.) rates were assessed in managing natural infections of Verticillium wilt and in reducing yield losses on greenhouse chrysanthemum plantations in two trials carried out in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The performances of this fumigant at a lower rate combined with VIF application were also compared with standardized metam-sodium (MS, Divapan^®) fumigation applied at 510 L ha⁻¹ a.i. under VIF and application of dazomet at label rate alone to bare soil. Temperatures were monitored at 20-cm depth in plots covered (VIF) throughout the entire fumigation period. Although all fumigation treatments significantly reduced the infection level by V. dahliae on chrysanthemum, the performances differed among them. DZ and MS applied at label rates under VIF showed the most effectiveness in controlling Verticillium wilt of chrysanthemum. However, DZ applied to soil at a low rate under VIF mulching showed good performances, which were always better than application of DZ alone at label rate to bare soil. Moreover, when combining a reduced rate of DZ with VIF mulching, chrysanthemum yield losses were reduced in a similar manner to the label rate application under VIF. Based on these findings, DZ application at a reduced rate could be suggested on a large scale to prevent Verticillium attacks on chrysanthemum cultivated on a protected crop. Future studies should be performed to verify the ability of VIF application in inducing high temperatures in soil and above all in enhancing performances of soil fumigation at low rates performed with other natural and chemical sterilants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)

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15 pages, 4253 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Spread of the Soil-Borne Pathogen Fusarium solani in Stored Potato Can Be Controlled by Terrestrial Woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidea)

by Anett Mészárosné Póss, Anikó Südiné Fehér, Franciska Tóthné Bogdányi and Ferenc Tóth

Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 45; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agriculture12010045 - 31 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2217

Abstract

Fusarium solani, a soil-borne pathogen of stored potato may be disseminated, and thus, the damage caused by the pathogen may be aggravated by the grazing activities of arthropods. To investigate whether terrestrial woodlice contribute to the spread or, instead, to the control of F. solani, we launched a series of pilot experiments. First, a laboratory feeding trial was set up to find whether and to what extent woodlice consume the mycelia of fungal pathogens, namely, Aspergillus niger, F. solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. This was followed by a second set of experiments to simulate storage conditions where potato tubers, either healthy or infected with F. solani, were offered to woodlice. We found that: (1) F. solani was accepted by woodlice but was not their most preferred food source; (2) the presence of woodlice reduced the spread of F. solani among potato tubers. Our results suggest that the classification of terrestrial woodlice as “storage pests” needs re-evaluation, as isopods have the potential to disinoculate infective plant remnants and, thus, reduce the spread of storage pathogens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)

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