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Direct antifungal activity of tiadinil, a systemic acquired resistance inducer, and thymol formulations on Stagonosporopsis citrulli and control of watermelon gummy stem blight

  • Disease Control
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Abstract

This study evaluated the direct antifungal activity of tiadinil [N-(3-chloro-4-methylphenyl)-4-methyl-1,2,3-thiadiazole-5-carboxamide], a systemic acquired resistance (SAR) inducer and two formulations of thymol (thymol I and thymol II) against Stagonosporopsis citrulli, the causal agent of gummy stem blight (GSB) disease of watermelon. Tiadinil, thymol I and thymol II completely inhibited the mycelial growth of S. citrulli in vitro at ≥ 100 ppm. Conidial germination and germ tube elongation were completely inhibited by tiadinil at ≥ 2000 ppm and by thymol-based formulations at ≥ 100 ppm. A single foliar application of tiadinil at ≥ 10 ppm or a single application of thymol I and II at ≥ 1 ppm, 48 h before or after pathogen inoculation, significantly reduced disease severity of watermelon seedlings inoculated with 105/ml conidial suspension of S. citrulli, compared to respective nontreated controls. Plants treated with foliar application of tiadinil at ≥ 1000 ppm before pathogen inoculation had significantly lower disease severity than plants that received an equivalent drench application. The efficacy of foliar application of tiadinil was affected by concentration and frequency of application. The study suggests direct antifungal activity of tiadinil, indicating a new mode of action of tiadinil against GSB disease of watermelon. The study also demonstrated direct antifungal action of thymol, a formulated active compound of essential oils, against S. citrulli and GSB disease of watermelon.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the National Watermelon Association Grant 0010592 for funding and Addis Ababa University and the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Ethiopia for financial support of YK as a graduate student who completed the work at the University of Florida, North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC), Quincy, FL. The authors acknowledge Hank Dankers, Binoy Babu, Sheeja George and Jim Marois for their valuable support and guidance in the project and Dr. Botond Balogh, Nichino America, Inc. and Marcel Barbier, AgriMor Int’l Co. for their support in this research.

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  1. Yonas Kefialew and Sanju Kunwar contributed equally to the manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Gambella Agricultural Research Institute, Gambella, Ethiopia

    Yonas Kefialew

  2. North Florida Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Quincy, FL, 32351, USA

    Yonas Kefialew, Sanju Kunwar, Laura Ritchie, Stephen M. Olson & Mathews L. Paret

  3. Department of Microbial, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Dawit Abate

  4. School of Plant Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

    Amare Ayalew

  5. Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    James Colee

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Kefialew, Y., Kunwar, S., Abate, D. et al. Direct antifungal activity of tiadinil, a systemic acquired resistance inducer, and thymol formulations on Stagonosporopsis citrulli and control of watermelon gummy stem blight. J Gen Plant Pathol 84, 284–295 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-018-0783-6

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