The Efficacy of Orange Terpene and Strain BM103 on the Control of Periwinkle Leaf Yellowing Phytoplasma.

Phytoplasmas are obligate phytopathogenic bacteria belonging to the class Mollicutes. The pathogens, transmitted by insect vectors, associated with hundreds of plant diseases worldwide. Due to the regulation on banning use of antibiotics and limited efficacy of the traditional disease management manners, an eco-friendly alternative is needed. Given that terpene and probiotics have antibiotic activity and the ability to induce systemic resistance, in this study, the effectiveness of orange terpene and a Bacillus mycoides strain, BM103, was evaluated in periwinkle plants infected with periwinkle leaf yellowing (PLY) phytoplasma derived from a shoot-tip tissue culture system. Weekly drenching of 1,000 ppm diluted orange terpene emulsion or pre-activated strain BM103 liquid culture dilution exhibited the ability to inhibit PLY phytoplasma accumulation. The expression of the genes associated with plant defense response and flower development was upregulated after treatment. Moreover, pre-treatment of orange terpene or strain BM103 delayed PLY infection via cleft-grafting inoculation. While orange terpene did not suppress the symptoms, strain BM103 did result in a milder symptom expression that might partially attribute to its plant growth-promoting characteristics. Additionally, the pre-activation of strain BM103 may contribute to its efficacy. Taken together, this research indicates that orange terpene and B. mycoides BM103, with the ability to rapidly induce plant defense responses, could potentially be developed into biological control materials as preventive agents or biofertilizers.