Abstract
A nonpathogenic strain of Rhizobium vitis, VAR03-1, was tested as a biological control agent for crown gall of apple. When apple tree roots were soaked in a cell suspension of antagonists before planting in the field, treatment with VAR03-1 significantly reduced the number of plants with tumors and the disease severity. The inhibitory effects of treatment with VAR03-1 and the nonpathogenic R. rhizogenes strain K84, which is commercially used as a biological control agent throughout the world, on apple crown gall were almost identical. VAR03-1 was bacteriocinogenic, producing a halo of inhibition against two species of tumorigenic Rhizobium isolated from galled apple trees. Moreover, VAR03-1 established populations on roots of apple tree rootstock and persisted on roots for 437 days. This is the first report that the nonpathogenic R. vitis VAR03-1 effectively controls crown gall of apple.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Drs. K. Suzaki (Grape and Persimmon Research Station, National Institute of Fruit Tree Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Higashi-hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan) and T. Makino (formerly Shizuoka Agricultural Experiment Station, Shizuoka, Japan), who supplied some of the strains used in this study.
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Kawaguchi, A., Kondo, Ki. & Inoue, K. Biological control of apple crown gall by nonpathogenic Rhizobium vitis strain VAR03-1. J Gen Plant Pathol 78, 287–293 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-012-0388-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-012-0388-4