Phytoelicitor activity of Sargassum vulgare and Acanthophora spicifera extracts and their prospects for use in vegetable
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Phytoelicitor activity of Sargassum vulgare and Acanthophora spicifera extracts and their prospects for use in vegetable crops for sustainable crop production Omar Ali 1 & Adesh Ramsubhag 1 & Jayaraj Jayaraman 1 Received: 8 August 2020 / Revised and accepted: 19 October 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The phytoelicitor and phytostimulatory properties of alkaline extracts of two tropical seaweeds, Sargassum vulgare C. Agardh and Acanthophora spicifera (M.Vahl) Børgesen, collected from the coasts of Trinidad were investigated in tomato and sweet pepper crops. Foliar applications of seaweed extracts (SWE), at 0.5% concentration, resulted in substantial reductions in disease severity by the pathogens, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and Alternaria solani under greenhouse and field conditions. The effects of SWE on disease suppression were significantly improved when integrated with a minimum dose of fungicide. SWE-treated plants also showed enhanced plant growth and yield parameters. Investigations into the modes of action for disease suppressive effects revealed that SWE-treated plants had sustainably augmented defense enzyme activities and phenolic levels. The activation of defense pathways was validated by confirming the upregulation of marker gene transcripts (PR-1a, PinII, and ETR-1) which are involved in defense signalling pathways. The SWE-treated plants also showed significant upregulation of genes involved in auxin (IAA), gibberellin (Ga2Ox), and cytokinin (IPT) biosynthesis. Multiple applications of SWE in crop plants have minimized the need for chemical fungicide sprays. The current study demonstrates the applicability of tropical SWE for use in vegetable plants for achieving environmental-friendly and sustainable crop production. Keywords Sargassum vulgare . Acanthophora spicifera . Seaweed extract . Phytoelicitor . Phytostimulant . Tomato . Sweet pepper . Disease severity . Defense enzymes . Defense pathways . Marker genes . Hormone synthesis genes . Plant growth . Tropical conditions
Introduction Indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides is common practice in the Caribbean region and other parts of the world, which leads to harmful effects on non-target organisms, contamination of water and soil, and accumulation of pesticide residues in crop produce (Butcher 2000). The further alarming fact is that plant pathogens are becoming increasingly resistant to Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-02002309-8. * Jayaraj Jayaraman [email protected] Adesh Ramsubhag [email protected] 1
Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
commonly used pesticides (Calvo et al. 2014). Thus, recommendations have been made for restricting the use of synthetic chemicals while emphasizing alternative organic inputs in the cultivation of perishable crops, including vegetables and fruits (Ali et al. 2019; Shukla et al. 2019). The sea
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