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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321040
Title: Biological control of Sclerotinia disease by Aspergillus sp. on oilseed rape in the field

Author
item HU, XIAOJIA - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item Roberts, Daniel
item XIE, LIHUA - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item YU, CHANGBING - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item LI, YINSHUI - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item QIN, LU - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item HU, LEI - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item ZHANG, YINBO - Oil Crops Research Institute - China
item LIAO, XING - Oil Crops Research Institute - China

Submitted to: Biocontrol Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2016
Publication Date: 10/11/2016
Citation: Hu, X., Roberts, D.P., Xie, L., Yu, C., Li, Y., Qin, L., Hu, L., Zhang, Y., Liao, X. 2016. Biological control of Sclerotinia disease by Aspergillus sp. on oilseed rape in the field. Biocontrol Science and Technology. 26:1526-1537.

Interpretive Summary: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum can cause serious yield losses in oilseed and other crops in the United States. Chemical control measures for diseases caused by this pathogen can be hazardous to man and the environment. Other more environmentally friendly control measures such as plant breeding and crop rotation have met with limited success. Therefore, environmentally friendly strategies for control of these diseases need to be developed due to the problems associated with existing chemical controls and the limited effectiveness of other traditional control measures. In this study we show that the beneficial fungus Aspergillus sp. Asp-4 controlled disease caused by S. sclerotiorum on oilseed rape in field experiments. We also demonstrated that this beneficial fungus inhibited germination of sclerotia of this plant pathogen and colonized and degraded these sclerotia. Experiments reported here indicate that Aspergillus sp. Asp-4 has promise as a biological control agent for S. sclerotiorum on oilseed rape. Experiments reported here also suggest that disease control likely results from inhibition of germination of sclerotial resting structures due to mycoparasitic colonization by Asp-4. This information will be useful to scientists devising strategies for biological control of diseases on oilseed crops caused by S. sclerotiorum.

Technical Abstract: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causes serious yield losses on oilseed rape and other crops worldwide. Aspergillus sp. Asp-4, previously shown to inhibit germination of sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum in vitro and in the field, was evaluated in field trials for suppression of this pathogen on oilseed rape. Spray application of Asp-4 to the soil prior to sowing rice in a rice-oilseed rape rotation resulted in a significant reduction in incidence of Sclerotinia stem rot on oilseed rape compared with the non-treated control in two field trials. This spray application of Asp-4 to the soil also resulted in a significant reduction in germination of sclerotia relative to the non-treated control in these field trials, correlating this reduction in sclerotial germination with disease control. Microscopic examination demonstrated that Asp-4 could effectively colonize external and internal portions of sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum in vitro. Incubation of Asp-4 with sterile sclerotial material induced production of ß-glucanase and chitinase activities by this isolate; ß-glucanase and chitinase being potentially capable of degrading the glucan and chitin polymeric components of sclerotia. Incubation of Asp-4 with sterile sclerotial material also resulted in a significant reduction in dry weight of this sclerotial material relative to the non-treated control in 96 h in vitro experiments. Experiments reported here indicate that Aspergillus sp. Asp-4 has promise as a biological control agent for S. sclerotiorum on oilseed rape. Experiments reported here suggest that disease control likely results from inhibition of germination of sclerotial resting structures due to mycoparasitic colonization by Asp-4.