Abstract
The capacity of several strains of root-colonizing bacteria to suppressPythium aphanidermatum, Pythium dissotocum and root rot was investigated in chrysanthemums grown in single-plant hydroponic units containing an aerated nutrient solution. The strains were applied in the nutrient solution at a final density of 104 CFU ml−1 and 14 days later the root systems were inoculated withPythium by immersion in suspensions of 104 zoospores ml−1 solution. Controls received no bacteria, noPythium, or one of thePythium spp. but no bacteria. Strain effectiveness was estimated based on percent roots colonized byPythium and area under disease progress curves (AUDPC). In plants treated respectively withPseudomonas (Ps.)chlororaphis 63-28 andBacillus cereus HY06 and inoculated withP. aphanidermatum, root colonization by the pathogen was 83% and 72% lower than in the pathogen control, and AUDPC values were reduced by 61% and 65%. ForP. dissotocum, the respective strains reduced root colonization by 87% and 91%, and AUDPC values by 70% and 90%. In plants treated respectively withPs. chlororaphis Tx-1 andComamonas acidovorans C-4-7-28, root colonization byP. aphanidermatum was 84% and 80% lower than in the controls and AUDPC values were reduced by 66% and 57%; these strains did not suppressP. dissotocum. Burkholderia gladioli C-2-74 andC. acidovorans OCR-7-8-38, respectively, suppressed colonization of roots byP. dissotocum by 74% and 86%, and reduced AUDPC values by 60% and 70%, but were ineffective againstP. aphanidermatum. C. acidovorans OCR-7-8-39 reduced colonization and AUDPC values ofP. aphanidermatum by 57% and 42%, respectively.Pseudomonas corrugata 13,Ps. fluorescens 15 and JZ12, and three additional strains ofC. acidovorans were weakly or nonsuppressive againstP. aphanidermatum. Strains that reduced AUDPC values forP. aphanidermatum orP. dissotocum when applied at 104 CFU ml−1 were 11%–39% less effective at 103 CFU ml−1. Four tested strains (Ps. chlororaphis 63-28,Ps. chlororaphis Tx-1,B. cereus HY06, andB. gladioli C-7-24) in most instances suppressed root colonization and lowered AUDPC values ofP. aphanidermatum when applied at 14, 7 or 0 days before inoculation, but reduction of the respective variables was generally greater when the strains were applied at 14 days (63%–87% and 75%–78%) or 7 days (44%–47% and 31%–88%) than at 0 days (14%–31% and 23%–62%) before inoculation.Ps. chlororaphis Tx-1,Ps. chlororaphis 63-28 andB. cereus HY06 significantly suppressedP. aphanidermatum whether the temperature of the nutrient solution was high (32°C) or moderate (24°C). Taken together, the observations suggest thatPs. chlororaphis 63-28,B. cereus HY06,Ps. chlororaphis Tx-1,B. gladioli C-2-74 andC. acidovorans OCR-7-8-38 have the potential for controlling Pythium root rot in hydroponic chrysanthemums.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowley, S.R. (1999) A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Statistics in Plant Biology. Any Old Subjects Books, Guelph, Ont., Canada.
Carruthers, F.L., Shum-Thomas, T., Conner, A.J. and Mahanty, H.K. (1995) The significance of antibiotic production byPseudomonas aureofaciens Tx-1 PA147-2 for biological control ofPhytophthora megasperma root rot of asparagus.Plant Soil 170:339–344.
Chatterton, S., Sutton, J.C. and Boland, G.J. (2004) Timing ofPseudomonas chlororaphis applications to controlPythium aphanidermatum, Pythium dissotocum, and root rot in hydroponic peppers.Biol. Control 30:360–373.
Jeffers, S.N. and Martin, S.B. (1986) Comparison of two media selective forPhytophthora andPythium species.Plant Dis. 70:1038–1043.
Johnstone, M.B., Chatterton, S., Sutton, J.C. and Grodzinski, B. (2005) Net carbon gain and growth of bell peppers,Capsicum annuum ‘Cubico’, following root infection byPythium aphanidermatum.Phytopathology 95:354–361.
Johnstone, M.B., Yu, H., Liu, W., Leonardos, E., Sutton, J.C. and Grodzinski, B. (2004) Physiological changes associated with Pythium root rot in hydroponic lettuce.Acta Hortic. (The Hague) 635:67–71.
Khan, A., Sutton, J.C. and Grodzinski, B. (2003) Effects ofPseudomonas chlororaphis onPythium aphanidermatum and root rot in peppers grown in small-scale hydroponic troughs.Biocontrol Sci. Technol. 13:615–630.
Liu, W., Sutton, J.C. and Huang, R. (2003) Effectiveness of microbial agents to protect against Pythium root rot in hydroponic cucumber, 2002.in: Biological and Cultural Tests for Control of Plant Diseases 18:V023. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, USA.
Liu, W., Sutton, J.C., Khan, A. and Grodzinski, B. (2002) Effectiveness of five microbial agents against root disease caused byPythium aphanidermatum andPythium dissotocum in hydroponic chrysanthemum.Can. J. Plant Pathol. 24:377 (abstr.).
Moulin, F., Lemanceau, P. and Alabouvette, C. (1996) Suppression of Pythium root rot of cucumber by a fluorescent pseudomonad is related to reduced colonization byPythium aphanidermatum.J Phytopathol. (Berl.) 144:125–129.
Owen-Going, T.N., Beninger, C.W., Christie, B., Sutton, J.C. and Hall, J.C. (2004) Role of phenolic compounds in epidemics of Pythium root rot of hydroponic pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).Can. J. Plant Pathol. 26:418 (abstr.).
Owen-Going, T.N., Sutton, J.C. and Grodzinski, B. (2003) Relationships ofPythium isolates and pepper plants in single-plant hydroponic units.Can. J. Plant Pathol. 25:155–167.
Paulitz, T.C. and Bélanger, R.R. (2001) Biological control in greenhouse systems.Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 39:103–133.
Pierson, L.S. III and Pierson, E.A. (1996) Phenazine antibiotic production inPseudomonas aureofaciens: role in rhizosphere ecology and pathogen suppression.FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 136:101–108.
Punja, Z.K. and Yip, R. (2003) Biological control of damping-off and root rot caused byPythium aphanidermatum on greenhouse cucumbers.Can. J. Plant Pathol. 25:411–417.
Qutob, D., Kamoun, S and Gijzen, M. (2002) Expression ofPhytophthora sojae necrosis-inducing protein occurs during transition from biotrophy to necrotrophy.Plant J. 32:361–373.
Rahimian, M.K. and Banihashemi, Z. (1979) A method for obtaining zoospores ofPythium aphanidermatum and their use in determining cucurbit seedling resistance to damping-off.Plant Dis. Rep. 63:658–661.
SAS Institute Inc. (1999) SAS/STRAT™ Users Guide, Version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
Shaner, G. and Finney, R.E. (1977) The effect of nitrogen fertilization on the expression of slow-mildewing resistance in Knox wheat.Phytopathology 67:1051–1056.
Stabb, E.V., Jacobson, L.M. and Handelsman, J. (1994) Zwittermicin A-producing strains ofBacillus cereus from diverse soils.Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:4404–4412.
Sutton, J.C. (1995) Evaluation of micro-organisms for biocontrol:Botrytis cinerea and strawberry, a case study.in: Andrews, J.H. and Tommerup, I. [Eds.] Advances in Plant Pathology. Vol. 11, pp. 173–190. Academic Press, London, UK.
Sutton, J.C. and Evans, R. (1999) Water treatment technologies for managing root diseases in hydroponic peppers. Phase II. Final Report. Industrial Research Assistance Program, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Sutton, J.C., Liu, W. and Huang, R. (2002) Biological and chemical control of disease organisms to allow reuse of rockwool slabs for hydroponic crop production. Final Report. Industrial Research Assistance Program, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Sutton, J.C., Liu, W. and Huang, R. (2003) Evaluation of five microbial agents to protect hydroponic vegetable crops. Final Report. Industrial Research Assistance Program, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ont., Canada.
Sutton, J.C., Owen-Going, T.N., Sopher, C.R., Beninger, C.W. and Hall, J.C. (2003) Interações entrePythium aphanidermatum e fenólicos alelopáticos aceleram epidémicos da podridão radicular do pimentão (Capsicum annuum L.).Fitopatol. Bras. 28:S671.
Sutton, J.C., Sopher, C.R., Owen-Going, T.N., Liu, W., Grodzinski, B., Hall, J.C.et al. (2006) Etiology and epidemiology of Pythium root rot in hydroponic crops: current knowledge and perspectives.Summa Phytopathol. 32:307–321.
Sutton, J.C., Yu, H., Grodzinski, B. and Johnstone, B. (2000) Relationship of ultraviolet radiation dose and inactivation of pathogen propagules in water and hydroponic nutrient solution.Can. J. Plant Pathol. 22:300–309.
Viet, S., Worle, J.M., Nurnberger, T., Koch, T. and Seitz, H.U. (2001) A novel protein elicitor (PaNie) fromPythium aphanidermatum induces multiple defense responses in carrot, Arabidopsis, and tobacco.Plant Physiol. 127:832–841.
Zhang, W. and Tu, J.C. (2000) Effect of ultraviolet disinfection of hydroponic nutrient solutions on Pythium root rot and non-target bacteria.Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 106:415–421.
Zheng, J., Sutton, J.C. and Yu, H. (2000) Interactions amongPythium aphanidermatum, roots, root mucilage, and microbial agents in hydroponic cucumbers.Can. J. Plant Pathol. 22:368–379.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Jan. 24, 2007.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, W., Sutton, J.C., Grodzinski, B. et al. Biological control of pythium root rot of chrysanthemum in small-scale hydroponic units. Phytoparasitica 35, 159–178 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02981111
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02981111