Showing papers in "Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection in 2013"
TL;DR: The results of this study indicate that actinomycete isolates may be used as biocontrol and plant growth promoting agents.
Abstract: The objective of this study was the isolation and screening of actinomycete isolates for antagonistic potential and plant growth promoting activities. A total of 321 isolates were recovered from different plants, their rhizospheric soils and non-rhizospheric soils of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh regions. Out of these, 62 were endophytic, 156 were rhizospheric and 103 were non-rhizospheric isolates. In primary screening (dual culture assay), 83 isolates antagonised one or more test phytopathogenic fungi. From these active isolates, 20 were found to be antagonistic in well diffusion assay (secondary screening) and most of them demonstrated broad spectrum inhibitory activity against five to six test fungi. Studies on plant growth promoting activities revealed that 12 showed abilities to produce indole acetic acid, 10 produced siderophores and 12 showed ammonia production. Phosphate solubilisation was observed in five isolates and four fixed atmospheric N2. In addition, production of hydrolytic enzymes such as...
55 citations
TL;DR: The primary results obtained on antifungal activity of endophytes show their possible role in plant defence mechanism but it is a preliminary approach and more extensive research is still required.
Abstract: A systemic study of fungal endophytes associated with different plant parts of Cannabis sativa and their antifungal activity was investigated in the present study. A total of 281 plant segments, including 91 leaves, 93 stem and 97 petioles samples, were screened for the isolation of endophytic fungi. Totally, 212 (77.65%) segments were found colonised by different fungi. Highest colonisation frequency were observed in stem parts (84.94%), then leaves (82.41%) and lowest 59.79% in petiole. Total eight fungal genera belonging to 12 species were isolated. Aspergillus is recorded as the most frequently occurring genera with three species Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus nidulans followed by Penicillium with two species Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium citrinum, while Phoma, Rhizopus, Colletotrichum, Cladosporium and Curvularia with single species. The antifungal potential of A. niger and A. flavus – two most frequently isolated endophytic fungi – was evaluated against two common pl...
47 citations
TL;DR: Th-14 was found more efficient in increasing relative salt stress tolerance in chickpea and reducing the foc growth in rhizosphere under present materials and conditions, and provides a novel paradigm for developing alternative, environmentally safe strategy to alleviate salt stress and manage fungal diseases that aggravates under saline soils.
Abstract: The antagonistic potential of salinity tolerant (ST) Trichoderma (Th) isolates against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri (foc) was tested, along with their capability to induce relative salt stress tolerance in chickpea with the aim to exploit their use as biological agents in reducing deleterious effects of salinity and controlling Fusarium wilt of chickpea under saline soil conditions. Under laboratory conditions, salt stress was created by supplementing nutrient medium with different concentrations of NaCl viz. 0, 70, 150 and 240 mM NaCl and a pot experiment was conducted using natural saline soil (EC – 6.6 dS m−1). Out of 45 Th isolates studied, only five isolates viz. Th-13, Th-14, Th-19, Th-33 and Th-50 were selected to be ST as these were able to grow and sporulate in growth medium containing up to 240 mM NaCl. In saline medium, ST isolates greatly surpassed salinity sensitive (SS) isolate with respect to growth rate, mycelial dry weight, sporulation and biological proficiency against foc. Out of fiv...
43 citations
TL;DR: The interaction of PGPR (Bacillus) with potato seeds or vegetative parts show promising antagonism by virtue of producing siderophore and antibiotics against black scurf and stem canker diseases of potato caused by Rhizoctonia solani, thereby resulting in increase of potato yield.
Abstract: Non-pathogenic soil bacteria living in association with roots of higher plants enhance their adaptive potential and thus could be beneficial for their growth. Here, we present the current status of the use of Bacillus subtilis in biocontrol. Rhizobacteria are found in the rhizosphere. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains, such as Bacillus and Pseudomonas, were isolated by using Nutreint dextrose Agar medium or Potato Dextrose Agar medium. The selection of PGPR strains was done by duel culture methods against the potato pathogens. The interaction of PGPR (Bacillus) with potato seeds or vegetative parts show promising antagonism by virtue of producing siderophore and antibiotics against black scurf and stem canker diseases of potato caused by Rhizoctonia solani, thereby resulting in increase of potato yield. The effectiveness of PGPR strain (Bacillus spp.) in improving the yield of potato in greenhouse conditions and in the field was observed.
37 citations
TL;DR: It has been shown in this study that the extracts of N. laevis were effective against C. maculatus in cowpea although the root bark extract seemed to be the most effective while the wood ash extract was least effective.
Abstract: Evaluation of protectant ability of Newbouldia laevis (Seem.) extracts against infestation by Callosobruchus maculatus in cowpea, Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp.) was carried out in the laboratory at ambient temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity. Extracts from wood ash, leaf, stem and root bark were tested at different concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%. One hundred per cent mortality of adult beetles was achieved at all concentrations within 72 h of treatment with extracts except in wood ash at 1% concentration, but they were significantly different (p < 0.05) from the controls. All the extracts were still able to cause high beetle mortality after one, two and three months of cowpea storage at high concentrations (4 and 5%) except wood ash, although there was a slight decrease in mortality during the period of storage. All the extracts significantly (p < 0.05) reduced oviposition and adult emergence of C. maculatus when compared with the controls although the reduction was higher at 5% c...
36 citations
TL;DR: An autonomous device was designed and developed for detecting two types of fungi that infect the cucumber plant leaves and can be used in robotic intelligent systems to achieve a modern farmer’s assistant in agricultural crop fields.
Abstract: Nowadays, artificial intelligence solutions such as digital image processing and artificial neural networks (ANN) have become important applicable techniques in phytomonitoring and plant health detection systems. In this research, an autonomous device was designed and developed for detecting two types of fungi (Pseudoperonospora cubensis, Sphaerotheca fuliginea) that infect the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plant leaves. This device was able to recognise the fungal diseases of plants by detecting their symptoms on plant leaves (downy mildew and powdery mildew). For leaves of cucumber inoculated with different spores of the fungi, it was possible to estimate the amount of hour post inoculation (HPI) by extracting leaves’ image parameters. Device included a dark chamber, a CCD digital camera, a thermal camera, a light dependent resistor lightening module and a personal computer. The proposed programme for precise disease detection was based on an image processing algorithm and ANN. Three textural features a...
36 citations
TL;DR: Unexpectedly, it was found that F. proliferatum is contaminated and colonised seed cloves, extremely reduced CG and following harvesting caused the highest CR of stored bulbs in Egypt.
Abstract: Isolation trails from garlic seed cloves of certain cultivars commercially distributed and rotted cloves of stored Baladi cultivar during 2010 and 2011 in different regions of Sohag, Egypt resulted in detection of four fungal genera Aspergillus, Botrytis, Fusarium and Penicillium. Moreover, Fusarium spp. was the most dominant fungi. Koch’ postulates were performed on cloves, seedlings and potted garlic plants. Results showed that isolates of F. oxysporum, F. proliferatum and F. solani were superior to other tested fungi and induced the highest cloves rot (CR). F. oxysporum highly reduced clove germination (CG), produced extensive seedlings damping-off and induced highly disease severity index of rotted roots/cloves followed by F. solani. Unexpectedly, it was found that F. proliferatum is contaminated and colonised seed cloves, extremely reduced CG and following harvesting caused the highest CR of stored bulbs. To our knowledge, this is first notice for occurrence of F. proliferatum causing CR of stored ga...
33 citations
TL;DR: Results proposed that A. vulgaris oil might have potential as a control agent against T. castaneum, R. dominica and especially C. maculates in storages.
Abstract: Application of plants essential oil for the evaluation of their fumigant toxicity and insecticidal properties is the goal of many researches. In this study, aerial parts of Artemisia vulgaris L. were subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and the chemical composition of the volatile oils was studied by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Alpha-Pinene (23.56) was the main component of the essential oil. Insecticidal activity of the oil was evaluated against Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) and Rhizopertha dominica (F.) after 24, 48 and 72 h. After 24-h exposure time, C. maculatus was more susceptible (LC50 = 52.47 μl/l air) and T. castaneum was more tolerant (LC50 = 279.86 μl/l air) than other species. LT50 values were indicated using highest concentration of LC50 tests for three species. In general, mortality increased as the doses of essential oil and exposure time increased. These results proposed that A. vulgaris oil might have potential as a contr...
33 citations
TL;DR: Aqueous extracts of 39 plants selected from local flora evaluated for antifungal potential against Alternaria solani, causing early blight of tomato, at 4% concentration in Potato Dextrose Agar showed significant growth inhibition.
Abstract: Aqueous extracts of 39 plants selected from local flora were evaluated for antifungal potential against Alternaria solani, causing early blight of tomato, at 4% concentration in Potato Dextrose Agar by poison food technique. Out of these, 13 plant extracts significantly reduced the mycelial growth of the pathogen, according to ANOVA, Tukey’s post-test. Inhibition rate of above 20% was shown by seven plant extracts namely Crotalaria trichotoma (36.6%), Citrus aurantifolia (27.3%), Azadirachta indica (23.7%), Polyalthia longifolia (23.3%), Datura metel (21.3%), Muntingia calabura (20.09%) and Oxalis latifolia (20.09%). At 2% concentration, six extracts showed significant growth inhibition namely, C. trichotoma (16.6%), A. indica (10%), Capsicum annum (7.1%), D. metel (6.6%), P. longifolia (6.3%) and C. aurantifolia (5.5%). The plant extracts shortlisted for pathogen inhibition have potential to be developed as potent fungicides in organic farming.
31 citations
TL;DR: Results showed that proposed system was able to identify S. exigua in the images from other species, and this machine vision system can be used in autonomous field robots to achieve a modern farmer’s assistant.
Abstract: Feature extraction is a crucial part of advanced image recognition systems. In this research, an autonomous detection device was designed and developed for insect pest detection to improve the ability of intelligent systems in order to annihilate harmful insect pests in agricultural crop fields. Device included a dark chamber, a CCD digital camera, a LDR lightening module and a personal computer. The proposed programme for precise insect pest detection was based on an image processing algorithm and artificial neural networks (ANNs). After image acquisition, the insect pests’ images were extracted from original images with Canny filtration. Afterwards, four morphological and three textural features from the obtained images were measured and normalised. Performance of ANN model was tested successfully for Beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) recognition in images using back-propagation supervised learning method and inspection data. Results showed that proposed system was able to identify S. exigua in the imag...
27 citations
TL;DR: Seed mycoflora associated with wheat was studied on different media with a particular reference to Blotter and potato dextrose agar procedures of ISTA and blotter method was found to be the best media for the isolation of my coflora whether borne externally or internally.
Abstract: Seed mycoflora associated with wheat was studied on different media with a particular reference to Blotter and potato dextrose agar (PDA) procedures of ISTA. Seed-borne fungi, viz. Fusarium moniliforme, Rhizopus spp., Mucor spp., Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia lunata, Drechslera spp, Alternaria spp. and Penicillium spp., were isolated from the variety HD264. Blotter method was found to be the best media for the isolation of mycoflora whether borne externally or internally. Total number and frequency of occurrence of fungi were recorded. The effect of seed treatment with different chemicals and eco-friendly botanicals was analysed on germination, and growth, better percentage of seed germination and reduction in fungal pathogen were due to biochemical seed treatment.
TL;DR: This is first study on the pathogenicity of T. angustata on grapevine in Iran and first report on the occurrence of the species T.Angustata known from other host plant species.
Abstract: In recent years, grapevine trunk diseases have gained growing attentions due to worldwide incidence of the disease. In a survey on fungal agents associated with grapevine trunk diseases in northern Iran, wood samples were collected from grapevines having the symptoms of declination. Isolation was made using routine plant pathology methods. A coelomycetous fungus with appendage-bearing conidia was recovered from symptomatic tissues. Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, the causal agent of the disease was identified as Truncatella angustata. The identity of the species was further confirmed by sequence data of internal transcribed spacer-rDNA region. A phylogeny inferred using sequence data obtained in this study, together with the sequences from GenBank, clustered our isolates together with T. angustata known from other host plant species. Pathogenicity tests performed on detached shoots of grapevines led to the same symptoms as observed in field conditions. This is first study on the pathogenicity of T. angustata on grapevine in Iran and first report on the occurrence of T. angustata on grapevine in Iran.
TL;DR: The results of the post-harvest estimation of the disease incidence (DI) of the onion bacterial rot throughout storage revealed that, the application of S. coelicolor HHFA2 reduced the DI pronouncedly comparing with the untreated control and confirm its successful role in the biological control of Onion bacterial rot diseases.
Abstract: This study was conducted to achieve biological control for the post-harvest onion bacterial rot diseases with the aid of Egyptian isolates of actinomycetes. In this respect, 45 actinomycetes strains were isolated from Egyptian soils and screened for their antagonistic effect against onion bacterial rot pathogens; Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora and Burkholderia cepacia. The most two active strains were identified based on their cultural, morphological and molecular properties as Streptomyces lavendulae HHFA1 and Streptomyces coelicolor HHFA2, the latter was most potent and so was used in vivo (pots and field) for controlling onion bacterial rot. S. coelicolor HHFA2 application resulted in enhancement in the photosynthetic pigments and some foliar growth parameters of onion plants confirming its growth promoting effect. The results of the post-harvest estimation of the disease incidence (DI) of the onion bacterial rot throughout storage revealed that, the application of S. coelicolor HHFA2 reduced the...
TL;DR: The host response of nineteen aerobic, seven upland and four lowland rice genotypes which are either being used in the International Rice Research Institute’s aerobic rice breeding programme or already cultivated by farmers in Asia was evaluated under aerobic soil conditions in an outdoor raised-bed experiment and showed a large variation in susceptibility and sensitivity to M. graminicola infection.
Abstract: Aerobic rice is a production system where adapted rice varieties are established via direct seeding in non-puddled, non-flooded, non-saturated fields and grown under conditions similar to upland conditions. On land cultivated continuously with aerobic rice, a yield reduction has been observed. The rice root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola is considered one of the possible causes of these yield reductions. Resistance to and tolerance for M. graminicola are essential traits for aerobic rice cultivars in alleviating this problem. In our study, the host response of nineteen aerobic, seven upland and four lowland rice genotypes which are either being used in the International Rice Research Institute’s aerobic rice breeding programme or already cultivated by farmers in Asia was evaluated under aerobic soil conditions in an outdoor raised-bed experiment. Our study showed a large variation in susceptibility and sensitivity to M. graminicola infection among the rice genotypes examined. Resistance comparable ...
TL;DR: Powder of Z. zanthoxyloides had the highest mortality effect on the weevil as it achieved 100% within 72 h at 5%(wt/wt) and its effect was significantly (p < 0.05) different from other powders.
Abstract: A study was carried out to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, Aristolochia ringens, Garcinia kola, Morinda lucida, Euphorbia hirta, Croton zambesicus, Colocasia esculenta, Ficus exasperata and Tetrapleura tetraptera on Sitophilus zeamais at ambient temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity. The plants powder was applied at 5, 10 and 20% (wt/wt) of maize grain. Weevil mortality, adult emergence, percentage damage, percentage reduction and weevil perforation index were observed. The result obtained showed that only the powder of Z. zanthoxyloides and A. ringens effect mortality on the weevil as they both achieved more than 50% weevil mortality within 96 h of application. However, powder of Z. zanthoxyloides had the highest mortality effect on the weevil as it achieved 100% within 72 h at 5%(wt/wt) and its effect was significantly (p < 0.05) different from other powders. Also, powder of Z. zanthoxyloides, A. ringens and M. lucida showed a reduction capacity on the ...
TL;DR: Treated fruits with SA at concentration 5 mM had the highest TSS, TA, ascorbic acid and antioxidant content and it had the lowest decay and acidity, showing that SA has strong impact on postharvest decay and fruit quality of kiwi fruit.
Abstract: The effect of salicylic acid (SA) treatment at different concentrations on fungal decay and some quality factors of kiwi fruit (Actinidia deliciosa var. Hayward) in postharvest conditions were studied. Results experiment showed that SA at all applied concentrations inhibited grey mould growth. The SA application significantly decreased weight loss percentage and increased life storage fruits. Also, SA positively affected on postharvest quality factors including total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), antioxidant, ascorbic acid and pH value. It was observed that treated fruits with SA at concentration 5 mM had the highest TSS, TA, ascorbic acid and antioxidant content and it had the lowest decay and acidity. Thus, these results showed that SA has strong impact on postharvest decay and fruit quality of kiwi fruit.
TL;DR: This is first study on the pathogenicity of Sarocladium strictum on grapevine worldwide and the first report on the occurrence of P. mortoniae on grapevines in north-western Iran.
Abstract: Esca is a very important and destructive disease of grapevine in many grapevine producing countries. Several groups of fungi have been reported from grapevines with esca disease symptoms; however, Phaeoacremonium species are the main hyphomycete fungi involved in this disease. In recent years, esca disease symptoms with consequent decline disease have frequently been observed in vineyards of north-western Iran. Nevertheless, the involvement of Phaeoacremonium spp. with esca disease symptoms in this region remains unknown. During 2008–2010 growing seasons, wood samples were collected from vines showing typical esca disease symptoms such as interveinal leaf chlorosis with subsequent necrosis and various types of internal wood deterioration in north-western parts of Iran. A total of 44 Phaeoacremonium-like hyphomycetes were recovered from sampled materials. Fungal isolates were subjected to tentative morphological identification and were further characterised by using sequenced data from ITS-rDNA and β-tubli...
TL;DR: The present study indicated that antagonistic fungi from grass rhizosphere and rhizoplane could be used to control anthracnose and promote plant growth, and increase yield of chilli in field.
Abstract: The fungal species from rhizosphere and rhizoplane of perennial grasses of the Western Ghats of India were studied for their pathogenicity, antagonism in vitro, substrate and root colonization abilities, rhizosphere competence, growth in different soil pH and inoculum shelf-life. Out of 138 non-pathogenic fungal isolates tested, 85 were antagonistic in vitro to chilli anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum capsici. Fifteen isolates with >60% inhibition zone to pathogen culture had saprophytic and root and rhizosphere colonization abilities. The sorghum grain inocula of test antagonistic fungi- Fusarium oxysporum, Chaetomium globosum and Trichoderma harzianum had the shelf-life of 90 days at 20 ± 2 °C and required optimum soil pH of 6.5. The above fungal isolates when tested for biocontrol of anthracnose disease in greenhouse and field caused reduction in seedling mortality and decreased disease incidence and severity at various plant growth stages and significant reduction in chilli fruit and seed infection....
TL;DR: The oviposition deterrent effect of water extract of Spodoptera littoralis and Agrotis ipsilon larval frass on Phthorimaea operculella adult females was studied using two types of larval food “Natural host and Semi-artificial diet” under laboratory and storage simulation (semi-field) conditions.
Abstract: The oviposition deterrent effect of water extract of Spodoptera littoralis and Agrotis ipsilon larval frass on Phthorimaea operculella adult females was studied using two types of larval food “Natural host and Semi-artificial diet” under laboratory and storage simulation (semi-field) conditions. Extracted frass of fed larvae on semi-artificial diet showed complete oviposition deterrent effect at treatments with 4th, 5th and 6th instars of S. littoralis, also at treatments with 1st–3rd and 6th instars of A. ipsilon, while the same effect was observed when the larvae fed on castor oil leaves as a natural host only at treatment with frass extract of A. ipsilon 6th instar larvae. Presence of low amounts of phenols and flavonoids in water extract of A. ipsilon larval frass resulted in relatively more effect as oviposition deterrent to fertile adult females on treated oviposition sites, while the opposite effect was obtained in S. littoralis larval frass experiments. At semi-field experiments, the percentage re...
TL;DR: In vitro assays indicated that oregano essential oil, bark chestnut-derived colourant and B. carinata meals, showed a large spectrum of activity against all pathogens and showed the antifungal potential of natural compounds.
Abstract: The effect of plant essential oils, Solanum chilense and Aster sedifolius raw saponins, plant-derived colourants and Brassica carinata glucosinolate-containing tissues, for the control of seedborne fungi Alternaria dauci, Alternaria radicina, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and Ascochyta rabiei, was evaluated. In vitro assays indicated that oregano essential oil, bark chestnut-derived colourant and B. carinata meals, showed a large spectrum of activity against all pathogens. S. chilense raw saponins were effective against A. dauci and A. radicina, while those from A. sedifolius also inhibited significantly C. lindemuthianum. Screening showed the antifungal potential of natural compounds.
TL;DR: The results suggest that the prevalence of 2,4-DAPG-producing fluorescent Pseudomonads in different crop rhizospheres of groundnut-based cropping systems in Andhra Pradesh is higher than previously thought.
Abstract: This study is focused on isolation and characterisation of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG)-producing Pseudomonas fluorescens isolates from different soils of groundnut-based cropping systems in Andhra Pradesh. In our studies, 21 isolates of P. fluorescens were isolated and confirmed through various biochemical tests, of which five were tested positive for 2,4-DAPGproduction with specific primers. Biocontrol potential of these isolates on groundnut stem rot pathogen (Sclerotium rolfsii) was determined through in vitro dual culture assays. The eight isolates were found effective against S. rolfsii (up to 75% inhibition) in dual culture method. All the five 2,4-DAPG-producing Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria isolates were highly antagonistic to S. rolfsii. Genetic diversity of these P. fluorescens isolates was determined by random amplification of polymorphic DNA analysis. Overall, our results suggest that the prevalence of 2,4-DAPG-producing fluorescent Pseudomonads in different crop rhizospheres ...
TL;DR: The results conclude that the strain of I. fumosorosea CCM 8367 has strong insecticidal effects on S. littoralis and has the potential to be implemented as a novel biocontrol agent.
Abstract: Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the efficiency of the new strain CCM 8367 of Isaria fumosorosea on different stages of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.), including soil treatments with pre-pupal and pupal stages. Treatments of larval instars showed a high susceptibility with 3rd, 5th and last instars to suspension of this fungus with concentration 5 × 107 spores/ml. Larval mortality was over 90%. There were no significant differences (P = 0.7929, F = 0.2346) between instar treatments. The commercial fungus, PreFeRal® strain Apopka 97 of I. fumosorosea, which was used in comparison with this new strain caused mortality rates of between 63.33 and 90%. Statistically, differences between the effects of CCM 8367 strain and Apopka 97 were highly significant on the last instar (P = 0.0064, F = 6.479) and extremely significant on the 3rd instar (P < 0.0001, F = 13.29). No significant differences were recorded between the two strains on the 5th instar (P = 0.0597, F = 3.2...
TL;DR: Based on biochemical and morphological tests, this isolate is belonging to the species Pseudomonas fluorescens, which significantly produced the secondary metabolites such as siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, protease, phenazine and volatile metabolites.
Abstract: About 900 bacterial strains obtained from plants rhizosphere from different areas of Iran and biocontrol ability were widely survey in vitro and greenhouse conditions against Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici the causal agent of take-all disease. Finally the best strain (VUPf5 strain) in the additional tests biocontrol ability in vitro and greenhouse conditions was selected for next studies. VUPf5 suppressed of take-all disease 85%. Based on biochemical and morphological tests, this isolate is belonging to the species Pseudomonas fluorescens. This isolate significantly produced the secondary metabolites such as siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, protease, phenazine and volatile metabolites.
TL;DR: Results obtained from this study revealed that methanol, ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts of A. boonei stem bark were effective in controlling C. maculatus and could serve as an alternative to synthetic insecticides for the protection of stored cowpeas against bruchids.
Abstract: Cheese wood, Alstonia boonei De Wild stem bark was extracted with five different solvents namely: methanol, ethanol, acetone, petroleum ether and n-hexane. The extracts were tested for insecticidal activity on cowpea bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.). Adult mortality and adult emergence of the insects were investigated. Oviposition deterrences using dual-choice and multiple-choice tests were also investigated as well as percentage damage and weight loss at temperature of 28 ± 2 °C and 75 ± 5% relative humidity. Results showed that at the rate of 2% extract per 20 g of cowpea seeds, methanol, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts caused 100% mortality of adult cowpea bruchid after four days of post treatment. When the bruchid had choice of oviposition substrate, they laid significantly (p < 0.05) fewer eggs on cowpea seeds treated with extracts compared to untreated seeds. There was no adult emergence in seeds treated with methanol, ethanol, petroleum ether and n-hexane extracts and 100% reduction i...
TL;DR: It can be concluded that the use of compost in the soil as an organic fertiliser increased exchangeable form of microelements in the land and also the availability of these elements by basil plants.
Abstract: Fusarium oxysporum was isolated from stem of basil plants showing symptoms of wilt, stem blight and collar root rot. Pathogenicity tests indicated that F. oxysporum f. sp. basilici is the causal agent of this disease. This is the first report of this pathogen in Egypt. The suppressive effects of six types of composts on Fusarium wilt disease incidence in basil were evaluated under greenhouse conditions. The effectiveness of these composts and their relation to the microelements content in treated plants was also assessed. Soil treatments with Khaya and Eucalyptus composts significantly reduced the infection percentage and disease severity of basil wilt. Otherwise, the applications of Araucaria, Datura, Ficus and Azadirachta composts showed no effect on both infection percentage and disease severity. Moreover, the Khaya and Eucalyptus compost treatments increased the levels of Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn) and Manganese (Mn) in treated basil plants than application of Araucaria, Datura, Ficus and Azadirachta compos...
TL;DR: In this study, one species- specific SCAR marker was developed for ricebean by designing primers from the sequenced putatively species-specific RAPD bands, and a single, distinct and brightly resolved band of 400 bp was found amplified only in the resistant parent, TNAU RED, and not in any other six species.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to identify the molecular markers (SSR, RAPD and SCAR) associated with Mungbean yellow mosaic virus resistance in an interspecific cross between a mungbean variety, VRM (Gg) 1 X a ricebean variety, TNAU RED. The parental survey was carried out by using 118 markers (including 106 azuki bean primers, seven mungbean primers and five ricebean primers). This study revealed that 42 azuki bean markers (39.62%) and four mungbean markers (54.07%) showed parental polymorphism. These polymorphic markers were surveyed among the 187 F2 plants and the results showed distorted segregation or chromosomal elimination at all the marker loci (thus, deviating from the expected 1:2:1 segregation). None of the plants harboured the homozygous ricebean allele for the markers surveyed and all of them were skewed towards mungbean, VRM (Gg) 1, allele, except a few plants which were found to be heterozygous for few markers. Among the 42 azuki bean SSR markers surveyed, only 10 markers produced heterozygotic...
TL;DR: Investigation of the effect of essential oils extracted from three different plants suggests that essential oils of all the three plants have the potential to be employed in the pest management programmes designed for a control of A. gossypii under greenhouse conditions.
Abstract: The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hem: Aphididae), is one of the most injurious pests of fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants worldwide, both outdoor and indoor. Currently, the main method of control of this pest is through application of pesticides which is mostly accompanied by the resistance of the pest against pesticide(s). The resurgence of resistant aphid populations brings about further contamination of foodstuff and environment. Essential oils obtained from the aerial parts of plants may have the potential to be an alternative to synthetic pesticides, since they have been demonstrated to possess a wide range of bioactivities against insects and mites. So, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of essential oils extracted from three different plants namely: Azadirachta indica Adr. Juss. (Meliaceae), Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn. (Myrtaceae) and Laurus nobilis L. (Lauraceae) against A. gossypii. The LC50 values of essential oils of A. indica, E. camaldulensis and L. n...
TL;DR: A new species of entomopathogenic nematode of the genus Oscheius was isolated from the rhizosphere of ginger cultivated in Indian Institute of Spices Research Experimental Farm, Peruvannamuzhi, Calicut District, Kerala, India and is capable to kill ginger shoot borer larva Conogethes punctiferalis and G. mellonella within 24–72 h under laboratory conditions.
Abstract: A new species of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) of the genus Oscheius was isolated from the rhizosphere of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) cultivated in Indian Institute of Spices Research Experimental Farm, Peruvannamuzhi, Calicut District, Kerala, India. This species is described as a new species on the basis of morphometrics study. Entomopathogenicity of this nematode was also tested against greater wax moth Gallaria mellonella larvae. O. gingeri sp. n. is diagnosed by the presence of leptoderan bursa and crochet needle-shaped spicules, presence of 10 lateral lines, didelphic female reproductive system, double-flapped epipytigma and nine genital papillae. The characteristics of the new species are: male; body ventrally curved, “C”-shaped upon fixation, leptoderan bursa, tail short rounded conoid and nine pairs of genital papillae, female; body almost straight upon fixation, female reproductive system is didelphic, double-flapped epipytigma present on the vulval opening and tail is short conoid with...
TL;DR: Observations showed that the six mutants are more effective biocontrol agents than the parental strain, suggesting that they would be promising biOControl candidates against A. flavus in pistachio nuts.
Abstract: Bacillus subtilis UTB1 is known as a biocontrol agent of Aspergillus flavus in pistachio nuts. In order to reduce growth of this fungal pathogen to a greater extent, a random mutagenesis using gamma irradiation was applied in strain UTB1. We studied the effects of different doses of irradiation (from 100 Gray to 3000 Gray) and efficiency of 500 selected colonies was assessed against A. flavus in a plate assay. Forty-five colonies exhibited higher inhibition activity compared to the non-irradiated wild type. Eight mutants out of the 45 were selected based on different polymorphism patterns obtained by rep-PCR (ERIC and BOX). Six mutants demonstrated enhanced production of biosurfactants on blood agar medium and in oil spreading technique and they also revealed more robust biofilm in comparison with the wild type UTB1. These observations showed that the six mutants are more effective biocontrol agents than the parental strain, suggesting that they would be promising biocontrol candidates against A. flavus i...
TL;DR: The data suggest that the application of these two fungi in tomato rhizosphere infected with root-knot nematode M. javanica had antagonistic effects on the infection and reproduction of this nematodes and the ability to control its population.
Abstract: In this investigation, the biological control activity of Arthrobotrys oligospora and Trichoderma harzinum BI against the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica, infecting tomato, was assessed both in in vitro and in in vivo experiments. In greenhouse experiments, tomato seedlings at six-leaf stage were inoculated with 106 spores/ml of A. oligospora and T. harzianum BI and number of 2000 nematode eggs per individual seedling. In in vitro assays, the per cent inhibition of nematode eggs hatching, the death per cent of second-stage juvenile (J2) and proteolytic activity on casein hydrolysis was evaluated. Results showed that A. oligospora and T. harzianum BI decreased the mean numbers of galls, eggmasses and egg per eggmass significantly (p < 0.05) compared with control. Percentage hatching inhibition of M. javanica treated with A. oligospora and T. harzianum BI was 25 and 52%, respectively. Moreover, A. oligospora and T. harzianum BI significantly increased (p < 0.05) the mortality rate of M. javanica (J...