Brazilian and Portuguese researchers recently published a study about efforts to improve lemon tree growth, inhibit post-harvest decay and suppress phytophthora root rot.
The authors are Marcio Alves de Sousa, Emilio Berghahn and Camille Eichelberger Granada with the University of Taquari Valley in Brazil; Rita de Cássia Sarraf Sousa with Francisco Nobre de Almeida State High School in Brazil; and Isabel Natalia Sierra-Garcia and Ângela Cunha with the University of Aveiro in Portugal.
The study’s abstract summarizes their work:
Lemon fruits have high economic value. However, lemon trees and fruits are susceptible to several phytopathogens, including Phytophthora spp. and Penicillium spp., which cause substantial losses in fruit production. In this study, a range of plant growth promoting bacteria were isolated from the soil of lemon orchards and characterized with the aim of selecting efficient strains capable of promoting plant growth, suppressing Phytophthora sp. in soil and inhibiting post-harvest decay caused by Penicillium sp. in lemons. The researchers also evaluated the effect of bacterial inoculation in prokaryotic communities in soil both in the presence and absence of Phytophthora sp.
A total of 195 bacterial isolates were characterized. Based on their promising biotechnological potential, Priestia sp. A50, Paenibacillus sp. A76 and Bacillus sp. N72 were selected for plant and fruit inoculation experiments.
The germination speed of lemon seeds inoculated with A50 and A76 was nearly twice as fast as that of the non-inoculated control.
Post-harvest mold control assays showed that inoculation with A76 and N72 reduced the speed of fungal colonization almost five times.
Lemon plants inoculated with N72 presented higher shoot and root length, shoot dry weight, and N content in shoots for both Phytophthora sp. contaminated and non-contaminated soil.
Soil prokaryotic communities in treatments N72, Phytoph + N72 and Phytophthora sp. alone displayed distinct patterns (beta-diversity), with a decrease in Acidobacteriaceae subgroup 1 in Phytophthora sp. control.
The findings highlight the potential of Bacillus sp. N72 as a promising biocontrol agent against soilborne Phytophthora sp. in lemon plants and Penicillium sp. in fruits during the post-harvest phase. This bacterial strain not only may promote plant growth but also contribute to the development of beneficial microorganisms in the soil.
Source: ScienceDirect
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