Tissue age, orchard location and disease management influence the composition of fungal and bacterial communities present on the bark of apple trees.

Abstract

Plants host microbial communities that can be affected by environmental conditions and agronomic practices. Despite the role of bark as a reservoir of plant pathogens and beneficial microorganisms, no information is available on the effects of disease management on the taxonomic composition of the bark-associated communities of apple trees. We assessed the impact of disease management strategies on fungal and bacterial communities on the bark of a scab-resistant apple cultivar in two orchard locations and for two consecutive seasons. The amplicon sequencing revealed that bark age and orchard location strongly affected fungal and bacterial diversity. Microbiota dissimilarity between orchards evolved during the growing season and showed specific temporal series for fungal and bacterial populations in old and young bark. Disease management did not induce global changes in the microbial populations across locations and seasons, but specifically affected the abundance of some taxa according to bark age, orchard location and sampling time. Therefore, the disease management applied to scab-resistant cultivars, which is based on a limited use of fungicides, partially changed the taxonomic composition of bark-associated fungal and bacterial communities, suggesting the need for a more accurate risk assessment regarding possible pathogen outbreaks.