Abstract
The issues that influence the application of the fungicide phosphite (phosphonate) to natural plant communities affected by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands are complex. Research has shown significant protective effects that are valued in the preservation of rare and endangered plant species and communities. However, phosphite does have other effects that include phytotoxicity, growth abnormalities, reduced reproductive capacity and large difference in levels of P. cinnamomi control between plant species. Clearly a balanced approach needs to be adopted when using phosphite for the management of P. cinnamomi in natural ecosystems. It is necessary to take into account the beneficial and detrimental effects of phosphite and the possible loss of plant species if the fungicide is not used. Traditional forms of P. cinnamomi management are also outlined to highlight their continued importance in disease management, irrespective of whether phosphite is used or not.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aberton MJ, Wilson BA, Cahill DM (1999) The use of potassium phosphonate to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in native vegetation at Anglesea, Victoria. Australasian Plant Pathology 28, 225–234.
Ali Z, Smith I, Guest DI (1998) Potassium phosphonate controls root rot of Xanthorrhoea australis and X. minor caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi. Australasian Plant Pathology 28, 120–125.
Anderson RD, Guest DI (1990) The control of black pod, canker and seedling blight of cocoa, caused by Phytophthora palmivora, with potassium phosphonate. Australasian Plant Pathology 19, 127–129.
Bashan B, Levy Y, Cohen Y (1990) Variation in the sensitivity of Phytophthora infestans to Fosetyl-Al. Plant Pathology 39, 134–140.
Barrett S (1999) Aerial application of phosphite in the south coast region of Western Australia. inal Report to the Threatened Species and Communities, Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. (Department of Conservation and Land Management: Perth.)
Bell DT, Plummer JA, Taylor SK (1993) Seed germination ecology in southwestern Western Australia. The Botanical Review 59, 24–73.
Bunny F (1997) The biology, ecology and taxonomy of Phytophthora citricola in native plant communities in Western Australia. PhD Thesis, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia.
De Boer RF, Greenhalgh FC (1990) Efficacy of potassium phosphonate in controlling Phytophthora root rot of subterranean clover and ornamental plants in Victoria. Australasian Plant Pathology 19, 124–125.
Dolan TE, Coffey MD (1988) Correlative in vitro and in vivo behaviour of mutant strains of Phytophthora palmivora expressing different resistances to phosphorous acid and fosetyl-Na. Phytopathology 78, 974–978.
Fairbanks MM, Hardy GEStJ, McComb JA (2000) Comparisons of phosphite concentrations in Corymbia (Eucalyptus) calophylla tissues after spray, mist or soil drench applications with the fungicide phosphite. Australasian Plant Pathology 29, 96–101.
Fairbanks MM, Hardy GEStJ, McComb JA (2001) The effect of phosphite on the sexual reproduction of some annual species of the jarrah forest of south-west Western Australia. Sexual Plant Reproduction (In press).
Fenn ME, Coffey MD (1989) Quantification of phosphonate and ethyl phosphonate in tobacco and tomato tissues and the significance for the mode of action of two phosphonate fungicides. Phytopathology 79, 76–82.
Guest DI, Bompeix G (1984) Fosetyl-Al as a tool in understanding the resistant response in plants. Phytophthora Newsletter 12, 62–69.
Guest DI, Bompeix G (1990) The complex mode of action of phosphonates. Australasian Plant Pathology 19, 113–115.
Guest D, Grant B (1991) The complex action of phosphonates as antifungal agents. Biological Reviews 66, 159–187.
Hardy Guest (2000) Phosphite and its potential to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in natural plant communities and adjacent rehabilitated minesites in Western Australia. In ‘Phytophthora Diseases of Forest Trees’. (Eds E.M. Hansen and W. Sutton) pp. 82–86. First International Meeting on Phytophthoras in Forest and Wildland Ecosystems. (Forest Research Laboratory: Oregon State University)
Hardy GEStJ, Dell B, Colquhoun I (2001) The potential of the fungicide phosphite to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in native plant communities associated with mining. Report M280. Minerals and Energy Research Institute of Western Australia, Minerals House, Perth, Western Australia (In press).
Howard K, Dell B, Hardy GE (2000) Phosphite and mycorrhizal formation in seedlings of three Australian Myrtaceae. Australian Journal of Botany 48, 725–729.
Komorek B, Shearer BL, Smith B, Fairman RG (1997) The control of Phytophthora in native plant communities. In ‘Control of Phytophthora and Diplodina canker in Western Australia’. Final Report to the Threatened Species and Communites, Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. (Ed. D Murray) pp. 1–59. (Department of Conservation and Land Management: Perth.)
Ouimette DG, Coffey MD (1989) Comparative antifungal activity of four phosphonate compounds against isolates of nine Phytophthora species. Phytopathology 79, 761–767.
Ouimette DG, Coffey MD (1990) Symplastic entry and phloem translocation of phosphonate. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 38, 18–25.
Pilbeam RA, Colquhoun IJ, Shearer B, Hardy GEStJ (2000) Phosphite concentration: its effect on phytotoxicity symptoms and colonisation by Phytophthora cinnamomi in three understorey species of Eucalyptus marginata forest. Australasian Plant Pathology 29, 86–95.
Rundel PW (1981) Fire as an ecological factor. In ‘Physiological plant ecology’. (Eds O.L. Lange, P.S. Nobel, C.B. Osmond and H. Ziegler), pp. 501–538. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)
Saindrenan P, Barchietto T, Avelino J, Bombeix, G. (1988) Effects of phosphite on phytoalexin accumulation in leaves of cowpea infected with Phytopthora cryptogea. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 32, 425–35.
Seymour NP, Thompson JP, Fiske ML (1994) Phytotoxicity of fosetyl-Al and phosphonic acid to maize during production of vesciculararbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum. Plant Disease 78, 441–446.
Shearer BL, Fairman RG (1997a) Phosphite inhibits lesion development of Phytophthora cinnamomi for at least four years following trunk injection of Banksia species and Eucalyptus marginata. In ‘Proceedings of the 11th biennial conference of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society’. p.181. (Australasian Plant Pathology Society: Perth)
Shearer BL, Fairman RG (1997b) Foliar application of phosphite delays and reduces the rate of mortality of three Banksia species in communities infested with Phytophthora cinnamomi. In ‘Proceedings of the 11th biennial conference of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society’. p. 180. (Australasian Plant Pathology Society: Perth)
Smillie RH, Grant BR, Guest D (1989) The mode of action of phosphite: evidence for both direct and indirect modes of action on three Phytophthora spp. in plants. Phytopathology 79, 921–926.
Walker GE (1989) Phytotoxicity in mandarins caused by phosphorous acid. Australasian Plant Pathology 18, 57–59.
Wicks JT, Hall B (1990) Evaluation of phosphonic (phosphorous) acid for the control of Phytophthora cambivora on almond and cherry in South Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology 19, 132–133.
Wilkinson CJ, Shearer BL, Jackson TJ, Hardy GEStJ (2001a) Variation in sensitivity of Western Australian isolates of Phytophthora cinnamomi to phosphite in vitro. Plant Pathology 50, 83–89.
Wilkinson CJ, Holmes JM, Dell B, Tynan KM, McComb JA, Shearer BL, Colquhoun IJ, Hardy GEStJ (2001b) The effect of phosphite on Phytophthora cinnamomi zoospore production in planta. Plant Pathology (In press)
Wilkinson CJ, Holmes JM, Dell B, Tynan KM, McComb JA, Shearer BL, Colquhoun IJ, Hardy GEStJ (2001c) Ability of phosphite applied in a glasshouse trial to control Phytophthora cinnamomi in five plant species native to Western Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology (In press)
Wills RT (1993) The ecological impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Stirling Range National Park, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 145–159.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hardy, G.E.S., Barrett, S. & Shearer, B.L. The future of phosphite as a fungicide to control the soilborne plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi in natural ecosystems. Australasian Plant Pathology 30, 133–139 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1071/AP01012
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/AP01012