Alternaria alternata as a Seed-Transmitted Pathogen of Sida hermaphrodita (Malvaceae) and Its Suppression by Aureobasidium pullulans

Urszula Wachowska, Edyta Kwiatkowska and Wioletta Pluskota
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Urszula Wachowska: Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostic, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 17, 10721 Olsztyn, Poland
Edyta Kwiatkowska: Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostic, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 17, 10721 Olsztyn, Poland
Wioletta Pluskota: Department of Plant Physiology, Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 1A, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Sida hermaphrodita (Virginia fanpetals) was introduced to Poland nearly 70 years ago as a potential fodder plant, and it is gaining importance as an energy crop. Alternaria alternata transmitted by seeds may exert a negative effect on the health of Virginia fanpetals plants. Methods: The virulence of the A. alternata pathogen, isolated from Virginia fanpetals seeds, was tested on detached leaves of Virginia fanpetals plants. The isolates were identified as A. alternata based on partial sequence analysis of Alta1 , TEF1a and gdp genes and the ITS 1–5.8SrDNA–ITS 2 region. Pathogen transmission from seeds to seedlings and the influence of seed dressing with a suspension of Aureobasidium pullulans on seedling health were analyzed in a greenhouse experiment. Results: Three of the nine analyzed A. alternata isolates were highly pathogenic for S. hermaphrodita . The initial symptoms of leaf infection were small, round dark brown or black spots which grew into larger dark brown spots surrounded by a chlorotic halo. Alternaria alternata was re-isolated from inoculated plants and was identified as the causal agent of Alternaria leaf spot disease. In the greenhouse experiment, S. hermaphrodita seeds dressed with a suspension of A. pullulans and inoculated with A. alternata produced a higher number of seedlings with a higher health status than non-dressed seeds. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that A. alternata is transmitted from infected S. hermaphrodita seeds to developing plants and biological control limits this phenomenon.

Keywords: black spot pathogen; pathogenicity; seed-transmitted disease; seedling emergence; Virginia fanpetals; biological control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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