Ozonation Efficacy in the Treatment of Soil-Borne Phytophthora sojae in Cultivating Soybeans

Msayleb Nahed,Kanwar Ramesh,Leeuwen J (Hans) Van,Wu Huaiqing

doi:10.36959/742/196

Abstract

Ozonation was studied for inactivating Phytophthora sojae, a predominant soybean pathogen that causes root and stem rot, and pre-and post-emergence soybean damping-off. Typically, fungicides are used to treat soils to control the damage from P. sojae to soybean production. An environmentally friendly method of ozonation was studied for inactivating P. sojae, a model Phytophthora pathogen that affects a wide range of high-value crops. Assays of artificially inoculated soil samples with P. sojae were treated with different doses of gaseous ozone. This study showed that a dosage of 0.47 g.kg-1 O3 in the soil totally prevented root and stem-rot disease incidence by P. sojae. The findings of this research clearly indicate that ozonation is an efficient alternative to chemical fungicides in the inhibition of Phytophthora diseases in the soil, hence a balancing feedback loop reinforcing the soil system as natural capital.

Highlights

Phytophthora is an important phytopathogen that means literally ‘plant destroyer’
Phytophthora produces several kinds of spores to survive under different soil conditions, the most predominant of which are (i) sporangia, asexual sac-like multinucleate spores, (ii) oospores, which are non-motile sexual spores specialized for survival in the absence of a host-plant and adverse conditions, and (iii) zoospores, which are dispersal spores adapted to move with water, locate the host-plant, and disseminate the pathogen [2]
In contrast with other disinfection methods and conventional fungicides used in the treatment of soil pathogens

Summary

Introduction

Phytophthora is an important phytopathogen that means literally ‘plant destroyer’. Phytophthora spp. attack a wide range of agriculturally-important plants, resulting in billions of dollars in losses worldwide each year [1]. Asexual spores (sporangia and zoospores) are often targeted by treatments to manage Phytophthora, because they represent a vulnerable phase in the pathogen life cycle. They are exposed to the environment and have limited nutrient reserves, which prevent them from persisting for long outside a host [2]

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