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A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 24670

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Dr. Takeshi Kanto

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Plant Protection Department, Hyogo Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Hyogo, Japan
Interests: plant protection; plant pathology; induced resistance; UV-B; plant pathogenic fungi

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plants will be publishing a Special Issue on “Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management”. Horticultural crops grow more intensively than agricultural crops in fields and greenhouses. Horticultural crop production is also more prone to damage, such as from diseases and pests. Although the risk agrochemicals pose to humans and the environment have not yet been completely resolved, chemical control is still the main method for controlling pathogens, especially in developed countries.

In the last few decades, many new diseases of horticultural crops have been identified because of the increasing number of horticultural crops and cropping types. Accordingly, many cases of agrochemical resistance have been found on horticultural crops worldwide. To address this, investigations have been conducted on alternative control methods, such as involving the use of resistant cultivars, biocontrol agents, heat treatments, fertilization management, light radiation, etc. Therefore, such methods have developed rapidly as a part of integrated pest management (IPM). IPM is a combination of strategies aimed at reducing losses caused by pathogens and pests based on environmental and economic considerations. Hence, this Special issue will cover a wide variety of areas, with the aim of contributing to the overall knowledge of IPM and related control management in its numerous aspects.

Dr. Takeshi Kanto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

integrated pest management (IPM)
chemical control
agrochemical
fungicide resistance
induced resistance
biocontrol
physical control
green manure
resistant cultivar
fertilization management

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fungicide-Saving Potential and Economic Advantages of Fungus-Resistant Grapevine Cultivars

by Birgit Eisenmann, Chantal Wingerter, Marc Dressler, Christine Freund, Andreas Kortekamp and Jochen Bogs

Plants 2023, 12(17), 3120; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12173120 - 30 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1705

Abstract

The high susceptibility of European grapevine cultivars to downy mildew (DM) and powdery mildew (PM) causes the intensive use of fungicides. Fungus-resistant cultivars (FRCs) with different resistance (R) loci have been bred and could play an important role in reducing plant protection treatments (PPTs). However, little information is available about the extent to which PPTs can be reduced in the field through the use of FRCs and the associated economic advantages. In this study, different strategies with reduced PPTs on FRCs were tested in field experiments. The results demonstrated that the number of PPTs can be reduced by 60 to 90%, resulting in reductions in applied copper and sulfur by 52 to 79% through the use of FRCs compared with susceptible cultivars, without affecting grape or plant health. The saving potential varied among years, depending on the type of R loci and climatic conditions. Furthermore, this study highlights that completely omitting PPTs in the cultivation of FRCs can result in PM or DM infections and possible loss of yield and fruit quality. In addition to the field experiments, a two-year observation of the performance of FRCs in commercial vineyards was undertaken, which highlighted not only the significant reduction in PPTs but also the financial savings that can be achieved through the use of FRCs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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15 pages, 6285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydroxylated Cinnamates Enhance Tomato Resilience to Alternaria alternata, the Causal Agent of Early Blight Disease, and Stimulate Growth and Yield Traits

by Yasser Nehela, Yasser S. A. Mazrou, Naglaa A. Taha, Abdelnaser A. Elzaawely, Tran Dang Xuan, Abeer H. Makhlouf and Asmaa El-Nagar

Plants 2023, 12(9), 1775; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091775 - 26 Apr 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1650

Abstract

The important vegetable crop, tomato, is challenged with numerous abiotic and biotic stressors, particularly the newly emerged fungicide-resistant strains of phytopathogenic fungi such as Alternaria alternata, the causal agent of early blight disease. The current study investigated the potential antifungal activity of four cinnamate derivatives including cinnamic acid, ρ-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid against A. alternata. Our in vitro findings showed that all tested compounds exhibited dose-dependent fungistatic action against A. alternata when their concentrations were increased from 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7, to 0.9 mM, respectively. The high concentration of ferulic acid (0.9 mM) completely inhibited the radial mycelial growth of A. alternata and it was comparable to the positive control (difenoconazole fungicide). Additionally, under greenhouse conditions, foliar application of the four tested cinnamates significantly reduced the severity of early blight disease without any phytotoxicity on treated tomato plants. Moreover, it significantly improved the growth traits (plant height, total leaf area, number of leaves per plant, and shoot fresh weight), total chlorophyll, and yield components (number of flowers per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit yield) of treated A. alternata-infected plants. Collectively, our findings suggest that cinnamate derivatives could be good candidates as eco-friendly alternatives to reduce the use of chemical fungicides against A. alternata. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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15 pages, 6759 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Citrus Bright Spot Virus: A New Dichorhavirus, Transmitted by Brevipalpus azores, Causing Citrus Leprosis Disease in Brazil

by Camila Chabi-Jesus, Pedro Luis Ramos-González, Aline Daniele Tassi, Laura Rossetto Pereira, Marinês Bastianel, Douglas Lau, Maria Cristina Canale, Ricardo Harakava, Valdenice Moreira Novelli, Elliot Watanabe Kitajima and Juliana Freitas-Astúa

Plants 2023, 12(6), 1371; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061371 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3748

Abstract

Citrus leprosis (CL) is the main viral disease affecting the Brazilian citriculture. Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) trees affected by CL were identified in small orchards in Southern Brazil. Rod-like particles of 40 × 100 nm and electron lucent viroplasm were observed in the nucleus of infected cells in symptomatic tissues. RNA extracts from three plants, which proved negative by RT-PCR for known CL-causing viruses, were analyzed by high throughput sequencing and Sanger sequencing after RT-PCR. The genomes of bi-segmented ss(−)RNA viruses, with ORFs in a typical organization of members of the genus Dichorhavirus, were recovered. These genomes shared 98–99% nt sequence identity among them but <73% with those of known dichorhavirids, a value below the threshold for new species demarcation within that genus. Phylogenetically, the three haplotypes of the new virus called citrus bright spot virus (CiBSV) are clustered with citrus leprosis virus N, which is a dichorhavirus transmitted by Brevipalpus phoenicis sensu stricto. In CiBSV-infected citrus plants, B. papayensis and B. azores were found, but the virus could only be transmitted to Arabidopsis plants by B. azores. The study provides the first evidence of the role of B. azores as a viral vector and supports the assignment of CiBSV to the tentative new species Dichorhavirus australis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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26 pages, 5080 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Globisporangium and Pythium Species Associated with Yield Decline of Pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium) in Australia

by Yuzhu Liu, Niloofar Vaghefi, Peter K. Ades, Alexander Idnurm, Aabroo Ahmed and Paul W. J. Taylor

Plants 2023, 12(6), 1361; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061361 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2800

Abstract

Pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium) cultivation in Australia, which accounts for the majority of global production of natural insecticidal pyrethrins, is affected by a persistent yield decline which in part is caused by a complex of pathogens. Globisporangium and Pythium species were isolated from crown and roots of pyrethrum plants showing stunting and brown discoloration of crown tissue, and from soil adjacent to diseased plants from yield-decline-affected sites in Tasmania and Victoria, Australia. Ten known Globisporangium species (Globisporangium attrantheridium, G. erinaceum, G. intermedium, G. irregulare, G. macrosporum, G. recalcitrans, G. rostratifingens, G. sylvaticum, G. terrestris and G. ultimum var. ultimum), two new Globisporangium species (Globisporangium capense sp. nov. and Globisporangium commune sp. nov.) and three Pythium species (Pythium diclinum/lutarium, P. tracheiphilum and P. vanterpoolii) were identified through morphological studies and multigene phylogenetic analyses using ITS and Cox1 sequences. Globisporangium ultimum var. ultimum, G. sylvaticum, G. commune sp. nov. and G. irregulare were most abundant. Globisporangium attrantheridium, G. macrosporum and G. terrestris were reported for the first time in Australia. Seven Globisporangium species were pathogenic on both pyrethrum seeds (in vitro assays) and seedlings (glasshouse bioassays), while two Globisporangium species and three Pythium species only caused significant symptoms on pyrethrum seeds. Globisporangium irregulare and G. ultimum var. ultimum were the most aggressive species, causing pyrethrum seed rot, seedling damping-off and significant plant biomass reduction. This is the first report of Globisporangium and Pythium species causing disease in pyrethrum globally and suggests that oomycete species in the family Pythiaceae may have an important role in the yield decline of pyrethrum in Australia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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15 pages, 1384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stress Response to Climate Change and Postharvest Handling in Two Differently Pigmented Lettuce Genotypes: Impact on Alternaria alternata Invasion and Mycotoxin Production

by Jon Miranda-Apodaca, Unai Artetxe, Iratxe Aguado, Leire Martin-Souto, Andoni Ramirez-Garcia, Maite Lacuesta, José María Becerril, Andone Estonba, Amaia Ortiz-Barredo, Antonio Hernández, Iratxe Zarraonaindia and Usue Pérez-López

Plants 2023, 12(6), 1304; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061304 - 14 Mar 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2136

Abstract

Many species of Alternaria are important pathogens that cause plant diseases and postharvest rots. They lead to significant economic losses in agriculture and affect human and animal health due to their capacity to produce mycotoxins. Therefore, it is necessary to study the factors that can result in an increase in A. alternata. In this study, we discuss the mechanism by which phenol content protects from A. alternata, since the red oak leaf cultivar (containing higher phenols) showed lower invasion than the green one, Batavia, and no mycotoxin production. A climate change scenario enhanced fungal growth in the most susceptible cultivar, green lettuce, likely because elevated temperature and CO₂ levels decrease plant N content, modifying the C/N ratio. Finally, while the abundance of the fungi was maintained at similar levels after keeping the lettuces for four days at 4 °C, this postharvest handling triggered TeA and TEN mycotoxin synthesis, but only in the green cultivar. Therefore, the results demonstrated that invasion and mycotoxin production are cultivar- and temperature-dependent. Further research should be directed to search for resistant cultivars and effective postharvest strategies to reduce the toxicological risk and economic losses related to this fungus, which are expected to increase in a climate change scenario. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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10 pages, 3984 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Biological Control for Grapevine Crown Gall Evaluated by a Network Meta-Analysis

by Akira Kawaguchi, Namiko Kirino and Koji Inoue

Plants 2023, 12(3), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12030572 - 27 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1785

Abstract

Grapevine crown gall (GCG), which is caused by Allorhizobium vitis (=Rhizobium vitis) tumorigenic strains, is the most important disease of grapevine around the world. Previously, nonpathogenic A. vitis strains VAR03-1, ARK-1, ARK-2, and ARK-3 were identified as promising biological control agents, but the control effects of each strain were not directly compared and assessed in the field because field trials were conducted in different fields and years. Thus, the results of the control effects obtained from 16 field trials in 12 years from 2006 to 2017 were analyzed and evaluated by a linear mixed model (LMM) and a network meta-analysis (NMA). The results of the LMM strongly indicate that the factor “antagonistic strain” was significantly related to the biological control activity in this study, but the other factors, “concentration of cell suspension”, “field”, and “year”, were not. Then, the results of 16 field trials were combined in an NMA. The estimated relative risk (RR) after treatment with ARK-1, ARK-2, ARK-3, VAR03-1, and K84 were 0.16, 0.20, 0.22, 0.24, and 0.74, respectively. In conclusion, strain ARK-1 was the best antagonist regardless of the concentration of the cell suspension, field, and year differences, and it can be recommended to control GCG. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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16 pages, 1877 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Real-Time Collection of Conidia Released from Living Single Colonies of Podosphaera aphanis on Strawberry Leaves under Natural Conditions with Electrostatic Techniques

by Shuka Ayabe, Yutaka Kimura, Naoki Umei, Yoshihiro Takikawa, Koji Kakutani, Yoshinori Matsuda and Teruo Nonomura

Plants 2022, 11(24), 3453; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243453 - 9 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2320

Abstract

Powdery mildew fungi produce progeny conidia on conidiophores, and promote the spread of powdery mildew diseases by dispersal of the conidia from conidiophores in the natural environment. To gain insights and devise strategies for preventing the spread of powdery mildew infection, it is important to clarify the ecological mechanism of conidial dispersal from conidiophores. In this study, all of the progeny conidia released from single colonies of strawberry powdery mildew fungus (Podosphaera aphanis (Wallroth) U. Braun and S. Takamatsu var. aphanis KSP-7N) on true leaves of living strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duchesne ex Rozier cv. Sagahonoka) were consecutively collected over the lifetime of the colony with an electrostatic rotational spore collector (insulator drum) under greenhouse conditions, and counted under a high-fidelity digital microscope. The insulator drum consisted of a round plastic container, copper film, thin and transparent collector film, electrostatic voltage generator, and timer mechanism. When negative charge was supplied from the voltage generator to the copper film, the collector film created an attractive force to trap conidia. The electrostatically activated collector film successfully attracted progeny conidia released from the colony. Experiment was carried out at just one colony on one leaf for each month (in February, May, July, October, November, and December in 2021), respectively. Each collector film was exchanged for a new collector film at 24 h intervals until KSP-7N ceased to release progeny conidia from single colonies. Collection experiments were carried out to estimate the total number of conidia released from a single KSP-7N colony over a 35–45-day period after inoculation. During the fungal lifetime, KSP-7N released an average of 6.7 × 10⁴ conidia from each of the single colonies at approximately 816 h. In addition, conidial release from KSP-7N colonies was largely affected by the light intensity and day length throughout a year; the number of conidia released from single KSP-7N colonies in night-time was clearly smaller than that in daytime, and the time of conidial release from single KSP-7N colonies was shorter by approximately 2 to 4 h in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. The ecological characteristics related to conidial releases from KSP-7N colonies will be helpful information for us to successfully suppress the spread of strawberry powdery mildews onto host plants under greenhouse conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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21 pages, 3377 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Metal Complexation of Bis-Chalcone Derivatives Enhances Their Efficacy against Fusarium Wilt Disease, Caused by Fusarium equiseti, via Induction of Antioxidant Defense Machinery

by Asmaa El-Nagar, Abdelnaser A. Elzaawely, Tran Dang Xuan, Mohamed Gaber, Nadia El-Wakeil, Yusif El-Sayed and Yasser Nehela

Plants 2022, 11(18), 2418; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11182418 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1990

Abstract

Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the most widely produced vegetable plants in the world. Fusarium wilt of pepper is one of the most dangerous soil-borne fungal diseases worldwide. Herein, we investigated the antifungal activities and the potential application of two chalcone derivatives against the phytopathogenic fungus, Fusarium equiseti, the causal agent of Fusarium wilt disease in vitro and in vivo. The tested compounds included 3-(4-dimethyl amino-phenyl)-1-{6-[3-(4 dimethyl amino-phenyl)-a cryloyl]-pyridin-2-yl}-propanone (DMAPAPP) and its metal complex with ruthenium III (Ru-DMAPAPP). Both compounds had potent fungistatic activity against F. equiseti and considerably decreased disease progression. The tested compounds enhanced the vegetative growth of pepper plants, indicating there was no phytotoxicity on pepper plants in greenhouse conditions. DMAPAPP and Ru-DMAPAPP also activated antioxidant defense mechanisms that are enzymatic, including peroxidase, polyphenole oxidase, and catalase, and non-enzymatic, such as total soluble phenolics and total soluble flavonoids. DMAPAPP and Ru-DMAPAPP also promoted the overexpression of CaCu-SOD and CaAPX genes. However, CaGR and CaMDHAR were downregulated. These results demonstrate how DMAPAPP and Ru-DMAPAPP could be employed as a long-term alternative control approach for Fusarium wilt disease as well as the physiological and biochemical mechanisms that protect plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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11 pages, 1015 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An HLD Model for Tomato Bacterial Canker Focusing on Epidemics of the Pathogen Due to Cutting by Infected Scissors

by Akira Kawaguchi, Shoya Kitabayashi, Koji Inoue and Koji Tanina

Plants 2022, 11(17), 2253; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11172253 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1538

Abstract

A healthy, latently infected, diseased (HLD) plant model for botanical epidemics was defined for tomato bacterial canker (TBC) caused by the pathogenic plant bacteria, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm). To estimate the infection probability parameter, inoculation experiments were conducted in which it was assumed that infection is transferred to healthy plants through contaminated scissors used to cut symptomless infected plants. The approximate concentration of Cmm in symptomless infected plants was 1 × 10⁶ cells/mL, and the probability of infection of healthy tomato plants was approximately 0.75 due to cutting with scissors soaked in a cell suspension of Cmm at 1 × 10⁶ cells/mL. Three different HLD models were developed by changing some parameters, and the D curve calculated by the developed HLD model A was quite similar to the curve of the proportion of diseased plants observed in fields that had a severe disease incidence. Under a simulation of disease incidence using this model, the basic reproduction number (R₀) was 2.6. However, if the infected scissors were disinfected using ethanol, R₀ was estimated as 0.3. The HLD model for TBC can be used to simulate the increasing number of diseased plants and the term of disease incidence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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Review

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14 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessReview

Strategies for Engineering Virus Resistance in Potato

by Jiecai Liu, Jianying Yue, Haijuan Wang, Lingtai Xie, Yuanzheng Zhao, Mingmin Zhao and Hongyou Zhou

Plants 2023, 12(9), 1736; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12091736 - 22 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3143

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important vegetable crop that plays a pivotal role in the world, especially given its potential to feed the world population and to act as the major staple food in many developing countries. Every year, significant crop loss is caused by viral diseases due to a lack of effective agrochemical treatments, since only transmission by insect vectors can be combated with the use of insecticides, and this has been an important factor hindering potato production. With the rapid development of molecular biology and plant genetic engineering technology, transgenic approaches and non-transgenic techniques (RNA interference and CRISPR-cas9) have been effectively employed to improve potato protection against devastating viruses. Moreover, the availability of viral sequences, potato genome sequences, and host immune mechanisms has remarkably facilitated potato genetic engineering. In this study, we summarize the progress of antiviral strategies applied in potato through engineering either virus-derived or plant-derived genes. These recent molecular insights into engineering approaches provide the necessary framework to develop viral resistance in potato in order to provide durable and broad-spectrum protection against important viral diseases of solanaceous crops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diseases of Horticultural Crops and Their Management)

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