Effectiveness of Hexanoic Acid for the Management of Bacterial Spot on Tomato Caused by Xanthomonas perforans

Ketsira Pierre, Naweena Thapa, Qingchun Liu, Mustafa Ojonuba Jibrin, Jeffrey B. Jones and Shouan Zhang ()
Additional contact information
Ketsira Pierre: Tropical Research and Education Center, Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA
Naweena Thapa: Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Qingchun Liu: Tropical Research and Education Center, Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA
Mustafa Ojonuba Jibrin: Tropical Research and Education Center, Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA
Jeffrey B. Jones: Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Shouan Zhang: Tropical Research and Education Center, Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USA

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Bacterial spot of tomato (BST), caused by Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans (referred to as X. perforans thereafter), is widely distributed globally, including Florida, and reduces fruit quality and yield in tomato fields. Currently, copper-based bactericides are widely used for this disease control; however, the effectiveness of these treatments has diminished due to the emergence of copper-tolerant strains. Therefore, there is a need for novel chemical controls against BST. In this study, we investigated hexanoic acid (HA) as an alternative against copper-tolerant strains of X. perforans through laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments. In vitro experiments demonstrated HA had a lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) compared to copper sulfate, with values of 512 and 1024 mg/L for HA versus 1024 and 2048 mg/L for copper sulfate. HA exhibited bactericidal activity within 1 h at 512 and 1024 mg/L. In greenhouse trials, HA applied at 512 and 1024 mg/L two days before inoculation significantly reduced disease severity compared to untreated controls and Kocide 3000 (copper hydroxide) + Penncozeb. However, field trials indicated that while HA reduced disease severity relative to the untreated control, it did not outperform the grower standard commercial bactericide ManKocide (copper hydroxide + mancozeb), nor did it improve total yield. Previous studies have shown the antimicrobial activity of HA against various other phytopathogens, but this study is the first to demonstrate the potential of hexanoic acid for controlling BST.

Keywords: bacterial spot; bactericides; chemical control; disease management; tomato; Xanthomonas perforans (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: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/7/695/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/7/695/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:7:p:695-:d:1620212

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().