Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.9
3.3
Journals
Agriculture
Special Issues
Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and...
share announcement

Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 17688

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vitale

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant diseases; phytopathogenic fungi; plant protection; biological control agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosario Paolo Mauro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Valdisavoia, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: agronomic management in horticulture and floriculture; breeding of horticultural crops; crop physiology; vegetables quality; secondary metabolites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ivana Castello

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: plant pathogens; phytopathogenic fungi; tomato and grape diseases; biological control; fungicide resistance; integrated and sustainable management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, plant infections incited by soil borne pathogens represent a severe threat for many commercial crops, because they are able to cause increasing losses in yield and quality. They comprise damping-off of seedlings and vascular and root rot diseases, and the causal agents include fungi, oomycetes, some bacteria, nematodes, viruses (carried by different vectors) and parasitic weeds. Although very dissimilar, they share a common character related to close association with the soil, which plays in turn a direct influence on their survival and ability to cause disease, impacting also on agronomic practices to manage the soil environment. Moreover, soil borne pathogens are able to colonize tissues of non-host plants and have different modes for their spatial and temporal spreading. Due to favorable global climatic changes and international law restrictions for chemical molecules employment, the control of soil borne diseases is becoming hard and challenging. Rational management strategies should include any possible disturbance action to one or more of the disease factors to achieve a significant reduction of infections.

In this regard, this Special Issue welcomes original research papers, short communications, and review articles regarding basic and applied research in all new aspects of soil borne pathogens and their biological control. A better understanding of new facets and agronomic implications of applications of innovative biological means (e.g., biocontrol agents, hypovirulence, suppressive media, biological inducers of plant resistance, etc.) for integrated pest management could contribute to achieving an effective management of soil borne plant pathogens while simultaneously maintaining satisfactory agronomic production from a quantitative and qualitative viewpoint.

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Vitale
Dr. Rosario Paolo Mauro
Dr. Ivana Castello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil borne plant pathogens
  • soil suppressiveness
  • biological control means
  • crops yield
  • product quality

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 7247 KiB  
Article
Potential of Nonthermal Atmospheric-Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma for Inhibition of Athelia rolfsii Causing Southern Blight Disease in Lettuce
by Salit Supakitthanakorn, On-Uma Ruangwong, Choncharoen Sawangrat, Wimada Srisuwan and Dheerawan Boonyawan
Agriculture 2023, 13(1), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010167 - 9 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2308
Abstract
Athelia rolfsii is one of the most destructive and aggressive fungal pathogens worldwide and causes southern blight disease of lettuce. A nonthermal atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has attracted interest as an alternative control method to chemical usage because of its antimicrobial [...] Read more.
Athelia rolfsii is one of the most destructive and aggressive fungal pathogens worldwide and causes southern blight disease of lettuce. A nonthermal atmospheric-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has attracted interest as an alternative control method to chemical usage because of its antimicrobial activity. Exposure of A. rolfsii to DBD plasma for 5, 10, 15, and 20 min resulted in in vitro fungal inhibition of mycelial discs and sclerotia. The results showed that DBD plasma exposure for 10 min completely inhibited fungal growth of mycelial discs, whereas exposure for over 20 min was required to inhibit the hyphal growth of sclerotia. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of mycelia and sclerotia abnormalities revealed laceration and damage of both mycelia and sclerotia. In addition, disease incidence and severity were reduced in mycelial and sclerotia inoculation following DBD plasma exposure for 15 and 20 min, respectively, compared with the positive control. In conclusion, the DBD plasma demonstrates antifungal activity against A. rolfsii via inhibition of fungal growth and reduction in disease incidence and severity. Therefore, DBD plasma has the potential to be applied in controlling southern blight disease of lettuce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1768 KiB  
Article
Seed Coating with Trichoderma harzianum T-22 of Italian Durum Wheat Increases Protection against Fusarium culmorum-Induced Crown Rot
by Antonella Vitti, Vincenzo Bevilacqua, Giuseppina Logozzo, Rocco Bochicchio, Mariana Amato and Maria Nuzzaci
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050714 - 18 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3639
Abstract
Changes in root organization and colonization could be relevant for wheat’s (Triticum durum Desf.) response to F. culmorum-induced crown rot disease (FCR). We investigated the biocontrol and biostimulant efficiency of seeds coated with T. harzianum T-22 (T-22) of four tetraploid wheat [...] Read more.
Changes in root organization and colonization could be relevant for wheat’s (Triticum durum Desf.) response to F. culmorum-induced crown rot disease (FCR). We investigated the biocontrol and biostimulant efficiency of seeds coated with T. harzianum T-22 (T-22) of four tetraploid wheat seedlings (ancient Saragolle Lucana and modern Creso, Simeto, and Ciclope). In an in vitro experiment, T-22 repressed F. culmorum mycelium growth by over 50% due to the probable combination of competition for nutrients, mycoparasitism, and antibiosis. The seed germination rate was not significantly affected by T-22 while the F. culmorum-induced decrease in emergence was attenuated in the presence of T-22. Ultimately, an improvement in growth was observed by comparing treated and control seedlings at 21 days after sowing. Inoculation with T-22 resulted in Saragolle Lucana seedlings being 4.69 cm higher while Ciclope and Simeto had main roots that were 9.96 and 8.13 cm longer than the control, respectively. Treated and infected Simeto seedlings were 3.75 cm higher and had roots that were 14.45 cm longer than the control, with little contemporary dense coiling colonization by T-22, like Saragolle Lucana. Seed coating induced the best performance regarding seedling growth and the ability to control the pathogen in Simeto (disease severity reduction rate (DDR) of 20%). The pathogenicity of F. culmorum was reduced in all four durum wheats, although it was highly susceptible to FCR. Ciclope, studied for the first time, showed a decrease in disease incidence from 100 ± 0.00% to 56.67 ± 9.13% and a 30% DDR. The seed coating influenced the seedlings’ response to FCR due to T-22’s different colonization actions. This study provides new explanations for the diverse responses of ancient and modern tetraploid wheat to F. culmorum mediated by T-22 inoculation via seed coating. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2301 KiB  
Article
Survey of Oomycetes Associated with Root and Crown Rot of Almond in Spain and Pathogenicity of Phytophthora niederhauserii and Phytopythium vexans to ‘Garnem’ Rootstock
by Francisco Beluzán, Xavier Miarnau, Laura Torguet, Josep Armengol and Paloma Abad-Campos
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020294 - 18 Feb 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3890
Abstract
From 2018 to 2020, surveys of oomycetes associated with root and crown rot of almond (Prunus dulcis) were conducted on diseased young almond trees in commercial orchards and nurseries in six provinces of Spain. A total of 104 oomycete isolates [...] Read more.
From 2018 to 2020, surveys of oomycetes associated with root and crown rot of almond (Prunus dulcis) were conducted on diseased young almond trees in commercial orchards and nurseries in six provinces of Spain. A total of 104 oomycete isolates were obtained from plant and soil samples, which h were identified by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Diverse species belonging to the genera Globisporangium, Phytophthora, Phytopythium and Pythium were found, Phytopythium vexans and Phytophthora niederhauserii being the most frequent. The pathogenicity of these two species to one-year-old almond seedlings of ‘Garnem’ (P. dulcis × P. persica) rootstock was studied. All seedlings inoculated with Pp. vexans and Ph. niederhauserii isolates showed severe symptoms at the late stage of the pathogenicity test (defoliation, wilting and dieback) and several plants died. Some isolates of Ph. niederhauserii significantly reduced the dry weight of the roots compared with the control, but this effect was not observed in seedlings inoculated with Pp. vexans. These results provide new information about the oomycete species present in almond crops in Spain and highlight the importance of carrying out frequent phytosanitary surveys for a better knowledge of potential risks posed by these soil-borne pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1088 KiB  
Article
Management of Chrysanthemum Verticillium Wilt through VIF Soil Mulching Combined with Fumigation at Label and Reduced Rates
by Ivana Castello, Alessandro D’Emilio, Andrea Baglieri, Giancarlo Polizzi and Alessandro Vitale
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020141 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2646
Abstract
Pre-plant soil fumigation for managing soilborne pathogens is practiced worldwide in several intensive ornamental and vegetable production areas. However, global regulations are currently implemented to minimize use of these chemicals. According to these policies, the efficacies of dazomet (DZ, Basamid Granulat®) [...] Read more.
Pre-plant soil fumigation for managing soilborne pathogens is practiced worldwide in several intensive ornamental and vegetable production areas. However, global regulations are currently implemented to minimize use of these chemicals. According to these policies, the efficacies of dazomet (DZ, Basamid Granulat®) applied alone to soil and under virtually impermeable film (VIF) at reduced (247.5 kg ha−1 a.i.) and label (495 kg ha−1 a.i.) rates were assessed in managing natural infections of Verticillium wilt and in reducing yield losses on greenhouse chrysanthemum plantations in two trials carried out in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The performances of this fumigant at a lower rate combined with VIF application were also compared with standardized metam-sodium (MS, Divapan®) fumigation applied at 510 L ha−1 a.i. under VIF and application of dazomet at label rate alone to bare soil. Temperatures were monitored at 20-cm depth in plots covered (VIF) throughout the entire fumigation period. Although all fumigation treatments significantly reduced the infection level by V. dahliae on chrysanthemum, the performances differed among them. DZ and MS applied at label rates under VIF showed the most effectiveness in controlling Verticillium wilt of chrysanthemum. However, DZ applied to soil at a low rate under VIF mulching showed good performances, which were always better than application of DZ alone at label rate to bare soil. Moreover, when combining a reduced rate of DZ with VIF mulching, chrysanthemum yield losses were reduced in a similar manner to the label rate application under VIF. Based on these findings, DZ application at a reduced rate could be suggested on a large scale to prevent Verticillium attacks on chrysanthemum cultivated on a protected crop. Future studies should be performed to verify the ability of VIF application in inducing high temperatures in soil and above all in enhancing performances of soil fumigation at low rates performed with other natural and chemical sterilants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 4253 KiB  
Article
The Spread of the Soil-Borne Pathogen Fusarium solani in Stored Potato Can Be Controlled by Terrestrial Woodlice (Isopoda: Oniscidea)
by Anett Mészárosné Póss, Anikó Südiné Fehér, Franciska Tóthné Bogdányi and Ferenc Tóth
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010045 - 31 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2685
Abstract
Fusarium solani, a soil-borne pathogen of stored potato may be disseminated, and thus, the damage caused by the pathogen may be aggravated by the grazing activities of arthropods. To investigate whether terrestrial woodlice contribute to the spread or, instead, to the control [...] Read more.
Fusarium solani, a soil-borne pathogen of stored potato may be disseminated, and thus, the damage caused by the pathogen may be aggravated by the grazing activities of arthropods. To investigate whether terrestrial woodlice contribute to the spread or, instead, to the control of F. solani, we launched a series of pilot experiments. First, a laboratory feeding trial was set up to find whether and to what extent woodlice consume the mycelia of fungal pathogens, namely, Aspergillus niger, F. solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. This was followed by a second set of experiments to simulate storage conditions where potato tubers, either healthy or infected with F. solani, were offered to woodlice. We found that: (1) F. solani was accepted by woodlice but was not their most preferred food source; (2) the presence of woodlice reduced the spread of F. solani among potato tubers. Our results suggest that the classification of terrestrial woodlice as “storage pests” needs re-evaluation, as isopods have the potential to disinoculate infective plant remnants and, thus, reduce the spread of storage pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Borne Plant Pathogens: New Insights on Sustainable Control and Agronomic Implications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop