Abstract
BackgroundPowdery mildew (PM) is an important disease of pea that reduce yield. Ascophyllum nodosum extract (ANE) and chitosan (CHT) are biostimulants used to improve plant health. Efficacy of ANE and CHT was assessed individually and in combination against pea powdery mildew.ResultsCombined applications of ANE and CHT had a significant inhibitory effect on pathogen development and it reduced disease severity to 35%, as compared to control (90.5%). The combination of ANE and CHT enhanced the activity of plant defense enzymes; phenylalanine ammonia lyases (PAL), peroxidase (PO) and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Further, the treatment increased the expression of a number of plant defense genes in jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway such as LOX1 and COI and salicylic acid (SA)-mediated signaling pathway such as NPR1 and PR1. Other genes involved in defense mechanisms like NADPH oxidase and C4H were also upregulated by the combination treatment.ConclusionThe combination of ANE and CHT suppresses pea powdery mildew largely by modulating JA and SA-mediated signaling pathways.
Highlights
Powdery mildew (PM) is an important disease of pea that reduce yield
This study focused on the effect of combined application of Ascophyllum nodosum extract (ANE) and CHT on the development of PM, and possible mechanism(s) of action that leads to increased resistance against PM in pea
Disease severity in all treatments was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower compared to the control
Summary
Powdery mildew (PM) is an important disease of pea that reduce yield. Efficacy of ANE and CHT was assessed individually and in combination against pea powdery mildew. Powdery mildew infects all above-ground parts of pea plant, which causes significant negative effects on productivity, including a reduction in the number of pods and seeds [1] The disease was reported to cause 25–50% yield loss [2, 3]. Erisyphe pisi propagates through the production of ascospores and conidia [4]. Both conidia and ascospores germinate on pea plant, develop appressoria on the surface and infect epidermis [5, 6]. There is an increasing demand for pesticide-free food
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