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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 #364495
Research Project: Biologically Based Technologies for Control of Soil-Borne Pathogens of Vegetables and Ornamentals

Location: Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory

Title: Application of Bacillus subtilis BY-2 in a biological fertilizer for control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on oilseed rape

Author
item LI, Y - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item QIN, L - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Roberts, Daniel
item HU, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item XIE, L - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item GU, C - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item SHEN, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LIAO, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item HAN, P - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LIAO, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Crop Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/30/2020
Publication Date: 9/3/2020
Citation: Li, Y., Qin, L., Roberts, D.P., Hu, X., Xie, L., Gu, C., Shen, X., Liao, X., Han, P., Liao, X. 2020. Application of Bacillus subtilis BY-2 in a biological fertilizer for control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on oilseed rape. Crop Protection. 138:105340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105340.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105340

Interpretive Summary: The fungal pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum can cause serious yield losses in oilseed crops in the United States and worldwide. Chemical control measures for diseases caused by this pathogen are often ineffective and can be hazardous to man and the environment. Other control measures such as plant breeding have met with limited success. Biological control measures for these diseases need to be developed due to environmental problems associated with existing chemical controls and the limited effectiveness of other traditional control measures. In this study we show a biological fertilizer containing the beneficial bacterium, Bacillus subtilis BY-2 significantly suppressed disease caused by S. sclerotiorum on oilseed rape in field trials conducted at three locations that differed in soil type. This adds an additional delivery method for application of beneficial bacteria to oilseed rape cropping systems. This information will be useful to scientists devising strategies for biological control of diseases on oilseed crops caused by S. sclerotiorum.

Technical Abstract: Availability of several application methods that are consistent with the cropping system may enhance adoption of biological control agents for control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on oilseed rape. Oilseed rape seed cake applied just prior to sowing has been used in China as a biological fertilizer to improve soil fertility. We field-tested Bacillus subtilis BY-2 applied in this biological fertilizer for control of Sclerotinia disease over two years at three locations. Sclerotinia disease on oilseed rape was significantly lower with the biological fertilizer + BY-2 treatment than with the non-treated and biological fertilizer-only control treatments at all three locations. Oilseed rape seed yield was similar for all treatments at all locations. Results presented here indicated that delivery of Bacillus isolates in biological fertilizer is a promising additional application method for reduction of Sclerotinia disease.