Importance of Pollen and Senescent Petals in the Suppression of Alfalfa Blossom Blight (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) by Coniothyrium minitans

Abstract

The effect of pollen and senescent petals on the suppression of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) blossom blight (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) by the mycoparasite Coniothyrium minitans was investigated. When incubated at 20°C for 39 h, germination of conidia of C. minitans and ascospores of S. sclerotiorum was 99.9 and 98.6%, respectively, in the presence of alfalfa pollen (9×104 pollen grains mL−1), whereas spore germination of both organisms was <0.5% in the absence of pollen (in water). In the presence of a commercial pollen product, Swiss™ pollen granules (mainly bee pollen), germination was 99.6% for C. minitans and 98.3% for S. sclerotiorum when the pollen concentration was 1.0% (w/v). When the pollen concentration was reduced to 0.1% (w/v), germination was reduced to 13.0% for C. minitans and 10.8% for S. sclerotiorum. Tests on detached alfalfa florets showed that the colonization of alfalfa florets by S. sclerotiorum was significantly suppressed by C. minitans in the presence of pollen (1.0% Swiss™ pollen granules), especially when C. minitans was inoculated 1-day before S. sclerotiorum. In vivo inoculation tests revealed that the efficacy of C. minitans in the protection of alfalfa pods from the infection by S. sclerotiorum was affected by the time at which C. minitans was applied. When C. minitans was applied on young blossoms of alfalfa at the anthesis stage, pod infection was 96.6% for the treatment of C. minitans+S. sclerotiorum and 99.6% for the treatment of S. sclerotiorum alone. However, when C. minitans was applied on senescent petals of alfalfa at the pod development stage, pod infection was 8.0% for the treatment of C. minitans+S. sclerotiorum compared to 90.8% for the treatment of S. sclerotiorum alone. These results suggest that timing of the application of C. minitans is critical for the mycoparasite to compete with S. sclerotiorum for the source of nutrients from pollen and senescent petals, and for its control of alfalfa blossom blight caused by S. sclerotiorum.