Biocontrol of Anthracnose Disease on Chili Pepper Using a Formulation Containing Paenibacillus polymyxa C1

Anthracnose disease on chili pepper has been known to seriously interfere with the plant growth and obviously reduce the yield. The disease is caused by Colletotrichum spp. In Bali, Indonesia, six species of Colletotrichum have been identified: Colletotrichum scovillei, C. acutatum, C. nymphaeae, C. gloeosporioides, C. truncatum, and C. fructicola. However, among them the C. scovillei was found to be the most prevalent cause of anthracnose on chili pepper in Bali. Two species of antagonist against C. scovillei, namely Paenibacillus polymyxa C1 and Bacillus siamensis C7B, have been identified. In this study the effectiveness of P. polymyxa C1 formulation was evaluated under greenhouse condition on chili pepper cultivars Cabe Besar. Application of formulation was conducted by a mini hand sprayer once to five times with a week interval. Results of the study showed that treatment with five applications significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the disease incidence, disease intensity, and the yield loss of chili pepper cultivar Cabe Besar. Alose relationship was observed between the number of applications with disease intensity, with coefficient of determination (R2) at 0.929. These results revealed that the formulation of P. polymyxa C1 effectively control the anthracnose disease on chili pepper, particularly on chili pepper cultivar Cabe Besar, and thus can be recommended for field testing to confirm its stability under field conditions.

Genome-wide association study reveals white lupin candidate gene involved in anthracnose resistance

Key message GWAS identifies candidate gene controlling resistance to anthracnose disease in white lupin. Abstract White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is a promising grain legume to meet the growing demand for plant-based protein. Its cultivation, however, is severely threatened by anthracnose disease caused by the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum lupini. To dissect the genetic architecture for anthracnose resistance, genotyping by sequencing was performed on white lupin accessions collected from the center of domestication and traditional cultivation regions. GBS resulted in 4611 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for 181 accessions, which were combined with resistance data observed under controlled conditions to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Obtained disease phenotypes were shown to highly correlate with overall three-year disease assessments under Swiss field conditions (r > 0.8). GWAS results identified two significant SNPs associated with anthracnose resistance on gene Lalb_Chr05_g0216161 encoding a RING zinc-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase which is potentially involved in plant immunity. Population analysis showed a remarkably fast linkage disequilibrium decay, weak population structure and grouping of commercial varieties with landraces, corresponding to the slow domestication history and scarcity of modern breeding efforts in white lupin. Together with 15 highly resistant accessions identified in the resistance assay, our findings show promise for further crop improvement. This study provides the basis for marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction and studies aimed at understanding anthracnose resistance mechanisms in white lupin and contributes to improving breeding programs worldwide.

Diversity of Colletotrichum Species causing Anthracnose Disease from Mango cv. Nam Dork Mai See Tong based on ISSR-PCR

Background: Anthracnose disease caused by the genus Colletotrichum is one of the crucial problems occurring in the field, along with postharvest diseases and affects mango quality in Thailand. In particular, the Nam Dork Mai See Tong cultivar, which is highly susceptible to the disease, is an important product for exportation. Methods: In this research, thirty-seven Colletotrichum species isolate were obtained from anthracnose disease in mango cv. Nam Dork Mai See Tong in three provinces in Thailand. Morphological studies and molecular techniques using species-specific primers were investigated; moreover, the diversity of pathogens was analyzed using PCR amplification of inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) with 6 primers, including pathogenicity tests. Result: Morphological studies and molecular detection with species-specific primers revealed that 32 isolates belonged to the C. gloeosporioides species complex and 5 isolates to the C. acutatum species complex. The genetic diversity of pathogens was analyzed. PCR amplification using 6 ISSR primers produced 35 polymorphic bands. These bands were used to construct UPGMA, in which cluster analysis divided the 37 isolates into 3 main groups and 8 subgroups at 61-73% Jaccard similarity coefficient with cophenetic correlation (r) = 0.6781. The ISSR technique showed the greatest genetic variation among isolates collected from different locations. Hence, a study based on ISSR markers was profitable to investigate the phylogenetic relationship of the genus Colletotrichum. Pathogenicity tests revealed that PC006 (Ca) and CS005 (Cg) showed the highest aggressiveness, with disease incidences of 84.74 and 80.90%, respectively. This study indicates that the diversity of pathogenic Colletotrichum species related to mango plantations in Thailand is increasing.

Evaluation of Anthracnose Resistance in Pepper (Capsicum spp.) Genetic Resources

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), is one of the major yield losing fungal disease in both pre- and post-harvest stage of pepper (Capsicum spp.) production worldwide. Among the Colletotrichum spp., C. acutatum has strong pathogenicity, which infects both immature and mature pepper fruit leads to severe economic losses in pepper production. Inheritance of anthracnose disease resistance was evaluated with 3738 pepper genetic resources which was collected from different countries and conserved at Korean genebank. The resistance analysis against pepper anthracnose (C. acutatum) was performed on detached mature green and red fruits under laboratory conditions by spray (non-wounding) and microinjection (wounding) inoculation methods. In the primary screening, about 261 accessions were appeared to be resistant against C. acutatum in spray inoculation. The resistant accessions were further evaluated with microinjection (wounding) inoculation method using the fungal (C. acutatum) isolate of pepper anthracnose. There were highly significant differences in the disease severity and distribution of disease rating scale, considering all the sources has significant genetic variation. Finally, the anthracnose resistant pepper accessions have been validated with cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) and high-resolution melting (HRM) markers in which, the CAPS and HRM marker analysis showed four types of genotypes such as resistant (R), susceptible (S), heterozygous (H) and Unidentified type (UT) or not detection. The Capsicum accessions showing high level of resistance to the pathogen could be used as source material in breeding programs for resistance to anthracnose disease.

Effectiveness Test of Trichoderma harzianum on The Development of Anthracnose Disease (Colletotrichum musae) of Ambon Banana

The decrease in the quality of bananas can be caused by the attack of the pathogen Colletotrichum musae which causes anthracnose disease. The use of the antagonist fungus Trichoderma harzianum can be relied upon to control this disease. This study aimed to obtain a more effective level of T. harzianum spore density to suppress the development of anthracnose disease in Ambon bananas. The treatment tested was T. harzianum with five levels of spore density, namely 105, 106, 107,108, and 109 spore/mL, designed using a completely randomized design with five replications. The variables observed were the incubation period and the intensity of the disease. The results showed that the spore density of 109 was effective in suppressing the development of anthracnose disease by inhibiting the incubation period to 3.85 days and suppressing the intensity of the disease to 41.4%.Keywords: Banana, Trichoderma harzianum, Anthracnose, Colletotrichum musae

Effectiveness of fungal, bacterial and yeast antagonists for management of mango anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides)

Background Mango anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, is one of the most important diseases of mango crop. It mainly attacks leaves, flowers, young fruits and twigs and also appears as a post-harvest disease of ripened fruits. Application of bio-control agents has huge potential in plant disease management. The goal of the present research was to establish the potential of individual and combined bio-control agents for the management of mango anthracnose under in vitro and under field conditions. Results The antagonistic reaction of six fungi, six bacteria and nine yeasts against C. gloeosporioides on potato dextrose agar medium and malt extract agar medium was observed among which Trichoderma harzianum was found to be the most efficient with 89.26% mycelial growth inhibition. Evaluation of bio-control agents against anthracnose disease development on mango fruit revealed that dip treatment of mango fruits in spore suspension (1.2 × 104 cfu/ml) of T. harzianum for 5 min was the most effective and provided disease control to the tune of 81.67%. Combined application of effective bio-control agents as a post-harvest fruit dip treatment was also evaluated against the mango anthracnose on mango fruits, where the treatment of T. harzianum + Pichia anomala was very effective with 93.39% disease control. Under field conditions, three consecutive sprays of T. harzianum, starting with the initiation of disease on leaves, followed by other two sprays at an interval of 15 days during 2015 and 2016 were found the best for the management of mango anthracnose disease both on leaves and on fruits at two locations. Conclusions The combined and individual applications of bio-control agents, viz.T. harzianum, Bacillus subtilis and P. anomala, through foliar spray or by fruit dip had the potential to control mango anthracnose. The bio-formulations of these bio-control agents had the potential to replace chemical fungicides and also protect the natural environment, thus playing a significant role in integrated disease management.