From laboratory to field: applying the Fo47 biocontrol strain in potato fields
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From laboratory to field: applying the Fo47 biocontrol strain in potato fields Maria E. Constantin & Francisco J. de Lamo Martijn Rep & Frank L. W. Takken
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Accepted: 19 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Endophytic microbes conferring biocontrol are an eco-friendly alternative to control diseases in crops. Unfortunately, the use of endophytes to control diseases is not yet widespread as their application in agricultural settings is challenging and the outcome variable. Translating strains that perform well under laboratory conditions to the field poses several challenges. One is large scale inoculum production in a cost-effective manner. Here, we developed a framework to scale up inoculum production of Fusarium oxysporum 47 (Fo47), assess inoculum viability and its performance in the field and effects on potato yield and performance. The Fo47 endophyte is a well-described biocontrol agent, isolated from disease suppressive soils in the 1980’s. Using mung bean medium, we could routinely produce ≈7 × 108 spores/mL. Using 60 mL
Maria E. Constantin, Francisco J. de Lamo, Martijn Rep and Frank L. W. Takken contributed equally to this work. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-020-02106-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. M. E. Constantin : F. J. de Lamo : M. Rep : F. L. W. Takken (*) Molecular Plant Pathology, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands e-mail: [email protected]
M. Rep e-mail: [email protected]
of 107 spores/mL per tuber we could re-isolate the fungus 79 days after application from 60 to 70% of the inoculated plants in a large-scale potato field trial (Clenze, Germany). Furthermore, this protocol can be used to assess Fo47 biocontrol potential under field conditions. The presence of the fungus did not negatively affect plant yield or starch production and did not increase susceptibility to endemic pathogens. Keywords Fo47 . Potato . Biocontrol . Field experiment
Introduction Many phylogenetically-diverse soil-inhabiting fungi are harmless endophytic colonizers of plant roots. Over the last four decades, endophytes have drawn the attention of the scientific community as some strains enhance plant fitness and increase resilience to pathogens and abiotic stresses, thereby potentially reducing pesticide dependency (Alabouvette 1986; Busby et al. 2016; Ghorbanpour et al. 2018; Latz et al. 2018). Among the diverse microbiota, Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) is ubiquitously present in soils. Fo is infamous for causing vascular wilt diseases in over 100 different crops (Edel-Hermann and Lecomte 2019). In fact, Fusarium wilt diseases rank among the most devastating diseases, constituting a significant agricultural threat (Dean et al. 2012; Fisher et al. 2012). However, most Fo strains are saprotrophs and not able to cause disease. Notably, wilt-disease suppressive soils carry root-
Eur J Plant Pathol
colonizing Fo endophytes that confer bio
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