Abstract
Combating soil pathogens that disable plant emergence is among the most difficult challenges of global agriculture. Legumes, preferred in sustainable cultivation systems, are particularly sensitive to pre-emergence damping-off of seedlings. Seed dressing is therefore a very important element in the cultivation technology. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of biological (Pythium oligandrum) and chemical (carboxin + thiuram) seed dressing on the quantitative and qualitative composition of microorganisms participating in the epidemiology of this disease, under specific hydrothermal conditions and chemical properties of the soil (pH, humus, macro-, and micronutrient). Microorganism identification was done using the MALDI-TOF MS (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry) technique. Species were assigned to frequency groups, and populations of pathogens, saprophytes, and antagonists were identified. The biodiversity of these communities was expressed with Simpson’s Reciprocal, Shannon–Wiener, and Evenness (Shannon) indices. In individual variants of seed pre-treatment, the correlations between individual edaphic factors and the suppression of pre-emergence damping-off, the number of isolates obtained from infected seedlings, and the share of individual trophic groups of fungi were assessed. The main causes of pre-emergence damping-off of broad bean seedlings are Ilyonectria destructans, Globisporangium irregulare, Fusarium equiseti, Rhizoctonia solani, and Fusarium solani. Eliminating seed treatment results in a seedling mortality rate of 33.5–42.5%. The effectiveness of the chemical protection product is 44.2% and 25.9%. Carboxin and thiuram reduce the diversity of microorganisms involved in the pathogenesis of pre-emergence damping-off and limit the presence of antagonistic fungi. Under the influence of P. oligandrum, there was a five-fold increase in the population of antagonists. An increase in humus in the soil reduces the percentage of diseased broad bean seedlings.
Highlights
The broad bean (Vicia fabae L. var. major L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family and is grown throughout the world
When assessing the biodiversity of microorganism communities colonizing preemergence infected seedlings, we focus our attention on the entire ecosystem: The plant, soil environment, hydrothermal conditions, and seed-treatment procedure
A strongly infected seedling is treated as a microhabitat, which, in a given growing season, transforms into a non-being that is manifested by seedling death. These remain in the soil, and may constitute an infectious inoculum for plant roots, or negatively increase the natural biocontrol potential. This is determined by the percentage of seedlings covered by pre-emergence damping-off as well as the biodiversity of microorganisms that colonize them, and the direct interactions between them
Summary
The broad bean (Vicia fabae L. var. major L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family and is grown throughout the world. Major L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family and is grown throughout the world. This species plays an important role in the sustainable development of agriculture. It is possible to minimize or completely eliminate the use of industrial nitrogen fertilizers in broad bean cultivation. The low C:N ratio in organic residues contributes to the integrated management of soil fertility, which has a beneficial effect on successive crops [3]. It is a very important element in crop rotation, reduces production costs, protects the environment, and serves food security [4,5]
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