Wheat Seed Coating with sp. Strain DEF39 Spores Protects against Head Blight.

Streptomycetes are promising candidates for the biological control of Head Blight (FHB) in wheat. Studies involving the use of streptomycetes as biological control agents (BCAs) have been limited to the application when the wheat plant is developed, close to the infection on the spike during flowering. Here, we tested the effects of seed treatment with the sp.

Grapevine Powdery Mildew: Fungicides for Its Management and Advances in Molecular Detection of Markers Associated with Resistance.

Grapevine powdery mildew is a principal fungal disease of grapevine worldwide. Even though it usually does not cause plant death directly, heavy infections can lead to extensive yield losses, and even low levels of the disease can negatively affect the quality of the wine. Therefore, intensive spraying programs are commonly applied to control the disease, which often leads to the emergence and spread of powdery mildew strains resistant to different fungicides.

Investigating Useful Properties of Four Strains Active against Growth and Deoxynivalenol Production on Wheat Grains by qPCR.

spp. can be exploited as biocontrol agents (BCAs) against plant pathogens such as , the main causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and against the contamination of grains with deoxynivalenol (DON). In the present research, four strains active against in dual plate assays were characterized for their ability to colonize detached wheat grains in the presence of and to limit DON production.

Selection of an Endophytic sp. Strain DEF09 From Wheat Roots as a Biocontrol Agent Against .

Selection of biological control agents (BCA) profits from an integrated study of the tripartite interactions occurring among the BCA, the plant and the pathogen. The environment plays a crucial role in the efficacy of BCA, therefore, the selection process shall utmost mimic naturally occurring conditions. To identify effective biocontrol strains against , the major cause of Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in grains, a workflow consisting of and assays was set up.

Evaluation of in-vitro methods to select effective streptomycetes against toxigenic fusaria.

Biocontrol microorganisms are emerging as an effective alternative to pesticides. Ideally, biocontrol agents (BCAs) for the control of fungal plant pathogens should be selected by an in vitro method that is high-throughput and is predictive of in planta efficacy, possibly considering environmental factors, and the natural diversity of the pathogen. The purpose of our study was (1) to assess the effects of strain diversity ( = 5) and culture media ( = 6) on the identification of biological control activity of strains ( = 20) against pathogens of wheat in vitro and (2) to verify the ability of our in vitro screening methods to simulate the activity in planta.

Selection of Streptomyces against soil borne fungal pathogens by a standardized dual culture assay and evaluation of their effects on seed germination and plant growth.

Background: In the search for new natural resources for crop protection, streptomycetes are gaining interest in agriculture as plant growth promoting bacteria and/or biological control agents. Because of their peculiar life cycle, in which the production of secondary metabolites is synchronized with the development of aerial hyphae and sporulation, the commonly used methods to screen for bacterial antagonists need to be adapted.

Results: The dual culture assay was standardized in terms of inoculation timing of Streptomyces antagonist and pathogen, and growth rate of different fungal pathogens.

Biological Control of Lettuce Drop and Host Plant Colonization by Rhizospheric and Endophytic Streptomycetes.

Lettuce drop, caused by the soil borne pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most common and serious diseases of lettuce worldwide. Increased concerns about the side effects of chemical pesticides have resulted in greater interest in developing biocontrol strategies against S. sclerotiorum.

Metrafenone resistance in a population of Erysiphe necator in northern Italy.

Background: Metrafenone has been used in Europe in integrated pest management programmes since 2006 to control powdery mildews, including Erysiphe necator. Its exact mode of action is not known, but it is unique among fungicide classes used in powdery mildew management. Recently, resistance to metrafenone was reported in Blumeria graminis f.

Colonization of lettuce rhizosphere and roots by tagged Streptomyces.

Beneficial microorganisms are increasingly used in agriculture, but their efficacy often fails due to limited knowledge of their interactions with plants and other microorganisms present in rhizosphere. We studied spatio-temporal colonization dynamics of lettuce roots and rhizosphere by genetically modified Streptomyces spp. Five Streptomyces strains, strongly inhibiting in vitro the major soil-borne pathogen of horticultural crops, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, were transformed with pIJ8641 plasmid harboring an enhanced green fluorescent protein marker and resistance to apramycin.

Sensitivity of Nonexposed and Exposed Populations of Magnaporthe oryzae from Rice to Tricyclazole and Azoxystrobin.

Magnaporthe oryzae is the major pathogen of cultivated rice worldwide, which can cause substantial losses to rice production. Rice blast management is based predominantly on the application of fungicides; however, only a little is known about responses of pathogen populations to the most widely used fungicides. In this work, the baseline sensitivity of the Italian M.

Impact of tricyclazole and azoxystrobin on growth, sporulation and secondary infection of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae.

Background: Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae B. Couch sp. nov.

Genetic similarity of flag shoot and ascospore subpopulations of Erysiphe necator in Italy.

The overwintering mode of the grape powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe necator (syn. Uncinula necator), as mycelium in dormant buds (resulting in symptoms known as flag shoots) or as ascospores in cleistothecia, affects the temporal dynamics of epidemics early in the growing season. We tested whether distinct genetic groups (I and III) identified previously in E.