Control of tomato bacterial wilt without disinfection using a new functional polymer that captures microbial cells alive on the surface and is highly biodegradable.

This report describes a green chemical method for controlling soil-borne plant diseases without disinfection using an equimolar copolymer of N-benzyl-4-vinylpyridinium chloride with styrene (PBVP-co-ST) that captures microbial cells alive on the surface and is highly biodegradable. Tomato bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum was controlled by the addition of sawdust coated with PBVP-co-ST prior to transplantation. This effected 87% reduction in appearance and 89% reduction in the index of symptom under appropriate conditions. The coated sawdust did not exhibit bactericidal activity. The half-life of PBVP-co-ST was 5.6 d when treated with activated sludge in soil. The disease control was explained in terms of reduction of infectious contact between the roots of tomato and the cells of R. solanacearum due to coagulation-like interaction between microbial cells and the coated sawdust, in addition to capture of microbial cells by the coated sawdust.