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Calcium oxide, potassium phosphite and a Trichoderma enriched compost water suspension protect Capsicum annuum against Phytophthora capsici by priming the immune system
Author(s) -
Bellini Alessio,
Pugliese Massimo,
Guarnaccia Vladimiro,
Meloni Giovanna Roberta,
Gullino Lodovica Maria
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.6401
Subject(s) - phytophthora capsici , salicylic acid , phytophthora , pepper , horticulture , blight , systemic acquired resistance , fungicide , biology , compost , elicitor , inoculation , phytophthora infestans , agronomy , biochemistry , gene , arabidopsis , mutant
Abstract BACKGROUND Proper management of Phytophthora capsici in pepper cultivation is extremely important, since Phytophthora blight is the main disease of this crop worldwide. In the past, the main strategy adopted had been the use of fungicides, causing, in some cases, the development of P. capsici resistant strains. In this work three different treatments selected from previous studies (potassium phosphite, calcium oxide and a water suspension from Trichoderma sp. TW2 enriched compost) were tested to prove their ability to activate the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in pepper against P. capsici ; acibenzolar‐s‐methyl was used as positive control. Two independent growth chamber pot experiments were performed, spatially dividing the site of treatments application (as radical drench) and the site of inoculation (as agar plug on the third leaf). RESULTS Leaf lesions were measured, showing a significant reduction on all treated plants compared to the untreated control. To further confirm this hypothesis, the expression levels of three SAR key genes ( CaPBR1 , CaPO1 and CaDEF1 ) were evaluated though RT‐Real Time PCR at the three end‐point times: T0, T6 and T24. A significant increase of target genes expression at least in one end‐point time in each treated plant was observed. Eventually, statistical overaccumulation of salicylic acid was observed in the upper leaves at the same end‐point times, through HPLC‐MS/MS analysis. CONCLUSION This work confirmed the hypothesis that the three treatments tested have the ability to prime the plant immune system, leading pepper to an alert status able to confer a better defence against P. capsici . © 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.