A. Baider

Local and Systemic Activity of BABA (DL-3-aminobutyric Acid) Against Plasmopara viticola in Grapevines

The non-protein amino acid BABA (DL-3-amino-n-butanoic acid, β-aminobutyric acid) is reported here to induce local and systemic resistance against downy mildew in grape leaves. Leaf discs of susceptible cultivars placed on BABA solutions and inoculated with Plasmopara viticola on the counter surface produced brownish restricted lesions below the inoculation site (Hypersensitive-like response, HR) which failed to support fungal sporulation. Histochemical analyses of such HR lesions revealed the accumulation of lignin-like deposits in the host cells. In contrast, water-treated inoculated discs produced expanded chlorotic lesions with profuse sporulation in which no lignin accumulation was observed. Mock-inoculated BABA-treated leaf discs showed no HR or lignin accumulation. Concentrations as low as 25 µg/ml (0.25 mM) of BABA sufficed to prevent tissue colonization with the fungus. Five other isomers of aminobutyric acid, namely L-2 aminobutyric acid, 2-amino isobutyric acid, DL-2-aminobutyric acid (AABA), DL-3-amino isobutyric acid, and 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA) gave no protection against the downy mildew fungus. Of the two (R and S) enantiomers of BABA only the R form was active in producing HR, suggesting a specific stereostructure requirement for activity. BABA could stop fungal colonization even when applied post-infectionally to leaf discs. Resistance of BABA-pulse-loaded leaf discs persisted for more than 14 days. BABA provided systemic protection against the disease when applied via the root system or via the lower leaves of grape plants. Application of 14C-BABA to a single leaf of intact plants showed the accumulation of the 14C label in upper leaves (and root tips), suggesting sink-oriented transport.

Oospore Production of Phytophthora infestans in Potato and Tomato Leaves.

ABSTRACT Fungal, host, and environmental factors affecting sexual reproduction of Phytophthora infestans in planta were studied. Intact and detached leaves were coinoculated with sporangia of various combinations of A(1) and A(2) mating-type isolates; leaves were incubated under various conditions, and oospore production was estimated microscopically within whole, clarified leaflets. Some A(1) + A(2) isolate combinations were more reproductive than others, whereas some potato genotypes better supported oospore formation than others. Tomato usually supported more oospore formation than potato. To induce oospore formation, A(1) and A(2) sporangia were usually mixed at a 1:1 ratio. Ratios of 1:19 to 19:1, however, also allowed abundant production of oospores. Optimal temperatures for sexual sporulation ranged from 8 to 15 degrees C, but oospores also were produced at 23 degrees C. Oogonia developed 5 to 6 days after sporangial coinoculation, and oospores developed after 8 to 10 days. Light had little effect on oospore formation in both tomato and potato leaves provided that initial lesions were established under photoperiodic conditions. Although A1 and A(2) sporangia usually were mixed before inoculation on leaves to obtain oospores, we found that discrete A(1) and A(2) lesions produced on opposite sides of the midvein of tomato leaves also induced oospore formation in the midvein and adjacent tissues. Oospores also formed when the two halves of the leaves were cut and separated at 3 days after sporangial coinoculation, which corresponded with the appearance of late blight lesions. The continuous supply of moisture to infected leaves was essential to oospore production. No oospores or oogonia formed in severely diseased plants kept at 50 to 80% relative humidity. Such plants did allow some oospore formation when kept continuously wet for 2 weeks in plastic boxes or tents. Detached leaves floated on water supported the highest sexual sporulation. Under optimal conditions of wetness and temperature, as many as 100 oospores per mm(2) of tissue were observed.

Synergistic interaction between BABA and mancozeb in controllingPhytophthora infestans in potato and tomato andPseudoperonospora cubensis in cucumber

Spray mixtures consisting of the plant activator BABA (DL-3-aminobutyric acid) and the protectant fungicide mancozeb were significantly more effective than BABA or mancozeb alone in controlling late blight (Phytophthora infestans) in potato and tomato and downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) in cucumber. A mixture composed of 5 parts BABA and 1 part mancozeb (w/w, a.i.) exhibited a higher synergy factor than the 1+1 or the 1+5 (BABA + mancozeb) mixtures. No synergistic interaction was detected between BABA plus mancozeb in controlling sporangial or cystospore germination, nor mycelial growth ofP. infestans in vitro. The results showed enhanced effect of mancozeb in BABA-induced plants, suggesting, therefore, that lower dosages of this fungicide may be sufficient to control late blight or downy mildew under field conditions.

Sprinkling Irrigation Enhances Production of Oospores of Phytophthora Infestans in Field-Grown Crops of Potato

ABSTRACT Two field experiments were conducted to study the effect of overhead sprinkling irrigation on oospore formation by the late blight fungus Phytophthora infestans in potato. Total rain (natural + sprinkling) accumulated in treatments of experiment 1 (winter 1997 to 1998) were 765, 287, and 219 mm and treatments of experiment 2 (winter 1999 to 2000) were 641, 193, and 129 mm. Sporangia from 11 isolates of P. infestans were combined in eight pairs, seven of A1 and A2 and one of A2 and A2 mating type, and were sprayed on field-grown potato crops (42 plants per plot at 7 m(2) each) and examined for their ability to form oospores in the host tissues. In experiment 1, oospores were recorded in a total of 132 of 1,680 leaflets (7.9%), 24 of 105 stems, and 2 of 90 tubers. In experiment 2, oospores were recorded in 40 of 519 leaflets (7.7%), but not in any of the 90 stems or the 45 tubers examined. Both the proportion of leaflets containing oospores and the number of oospores per leaflet increased with time after inoculation and were dependent on the rain regime, the position of leaves on the plant, and the isolate pair combination. In both field trials, increasing the rainfall significantly enhanced oospore production in leaves. Leaf samples collected from the soil surface had significantly more oospores than those collected from the midcanopy. Two pairs in experiment 1 were more fertile than the others, whereas the pair used in experiment 2 was the least fertile. The total number of oospores per leaflet usually ranged from 10 to 100 in experiment 1, but only from 2 to 10 in experiment 2. Maximal oospore counts in the field were 200 and 50 in experiments 1 and 2, respectively, but ranged from approximately 2,000 to 12,000 oospores per leaflet in detached leaves in the laboratory. We concluded that P. infestans can produce oospores in the foliage of field-grown potato crops, especially when kept wet by regular overhead sprinkling irrigation, but production was far below that in the laboratory.

Phytophthora infestans Produces Oospores in Fruits and Seeds of Tomato

ABSTRACT Tomato fruits at the mature green stage coinoculated with A1 + A2 sporangia of Phytophthora infestans, the late blight causal fungus, showed abundant oospores in the vascular tissues, pericarp, columella, and placenta. Oospores were also formed on the surface of fruits kept in moisture-saturated atmosphere. Occasionally, oospores were enclosed between the epidermal hairs of the seed coat. In a few seeds, oospores were detected inside the embryo. The data suggest that blighted tomato fruits may carry a large number of oospores, thus making them a threatening source of blight inoculum. Such fruits may also release airborne oosporic inoculum that may introduce recombinant genotypes within a growing season. Although Phytophthora infestans is seedborne in tomato, to our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of oospores in tomato seeds. Whether such tomato seeds produce blighted seedlings remains to be shown.

Oospore Formation by Phytophthora infestans in Potato Tubers

ABSTRACT The ability of Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of potato and tomato late blight, to produce oospores in potato tuber tissue was studied in the field and under laboratory conditions. In 1998 and 2000 field experiments, the canopy of potato cvs. Alpha and Mondial, respectively, were coinoculated with A1 + A2 sporangia of the fungus, and the infected tubers collected at harvest were examined for the presence of oospores. In 1998, only 2 of 90 infected tubers had oospores, whereas none of the 90 tubers examined in 2000 had any oospores. In the latter experiment, infected tubers kept in storage up to 12 weeks after harvest had no oospores. Artificial co-inoculations of whole tubers with A1 + A2 sporangia resulted only rarely in the formation of oospores inside the tubers. Co-inoculations of potato tuber discs taken from dormant tubers 0 to 16 weeks after harvest failed to support any oospore production, whereas discs taken from sprouting tubers of >/=18 weeks after harvest allowed oospores to form. Tuber discs showed enhanced oospore formation when treated before inoculation with either sugars, amino acids, casein hydrolysate, beta-sitosterol, or chloroethylphosphonic acid. In contrast, reducing airflow into the petri dishes where potato tuber discs were incubated reduced the number of oospores produced. The number of oospores produced in tuber tissue was lower compared with that in leaf tissue regardless of the origin of isolates used. The data show that the ability of Phytophthora infestans to produce oospores in potato tuber tissue is very limited and increases with tuber aging.

Control of late blight in potato by full and reduced rates of oxadixyl mixtures

The effect of oxadixyl-based fungicidal mixtures on the development of late blight and the buildup of resistance ofPhytophthora infestans to oxadixyl was studied in potato crops (cv. Alpha) grown in plastic houses. Half-rates of SAN 518F (mancozeb + oxadixyl) applied weekly provided better disease control and reduced resistance buildup more effectively than the full rates of the mixture applied biweekly. Mancozeb applied weekly at full rate was less effective than SAN 518F at half-rate. The data suggest that lowering the dosage together with shortening the interval between sprays is an efficient strategy to combat mixed populations — sensitive and resistant to phenylamides — ofP. infestans when phenylamide-based fungicidal sprays are used.

Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Japan-Israel Workshop on Novel Approaches for Controlling Insect Pests and Plant Diseases Binational Plant Protection Cooperation

S OF PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE JAPAN-ISRAEL W O R K S H O P ON NOVEL APPROACHES FOR CONTROLLING INSECT PESTS AND PLANT DISEASES Binational Plant Protection Cooperation