Plant Pathology Science

The effect of poultry and pigeon manures on pinto bean infection with the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica

Habiballah Charehgani

Heidari, F., Charehgani, H., Abdollahi M., & Adhami E. (2024). The effect of poultry and pigeon manures on pinto bean infection with the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 1-13.

The pinto bean with a considerable amount of protein plays a key role in human life. Plant parasitic nematodes are known to attack pinto bean plants worldwide. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne species) causes extensive damage to legume fields annually. The use of chemical fertilizers leads to instability in agricultural systems and endangers human health. The use of organic fertilizers can be a suitable alternative. The present study examined the effects of different concentrations of pigeon and poultry manures on M. javanica-infected pinto bean under greenhouse conditions. Poultry and pigeon manures were individually mixed with steam-sterilized soil at three different concentrations [1, 2, and 3% (w/w)] and the soil was poured into the 1.5 kg plastic pot. Pinto bean seeds were sown in pots and the seedlings were watered until the end of the test and fertilized as needed. Seedlings at the four-leaf stage were inoculated with 4000 eggs of M. javanica. The plants were harvested after 60 days and plant growth indices and nematode population indices were determined. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design tests with five repetitions. The results showed that application of 2% poultry manure was the best treatment that increased shoot length, fresh and dry shoot weight, and fresh root weight in nematode-infected plants. In addition, this amount of poultry manure resulted in a reduction in the number of galls, egg mass and eggs in the root system, the number of second stage juveniles in the soil and the reproductive factor compared to the untreated inoculated control. The results of this study showed that under greenhouse conditions, the effect of poultry manure in reducing nematode damage to pinto beans was greater than that of pigeon manure.

Two Fusarium species pathogenic to sugarcane in Khuzestan Province, Iran

Doustmorad Zafari

Dashtipoor, S., & Zafari, D. (2024). Two Fusarium species pathogenic to sugarcane in Khuzestan Province, Iran. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 14-26.

Sugarcane is an important commercial product that is used for sugar production and many industrial uses. This research was conducted to identify Fusarium species causing sugarcane pokabong disease in plants with symptoms of vascular wilting and red veins in the leaves. This disease is one of the most important and spreading diseases of sugarcane in the world, which leads to a significant decrease in the sugarcane crop. The purpose of this research was to identify Fusarium species causing this disease in Khuzestan province of Iran. The sugarcane fields of this province were visited and samples were taken from the diseased tissues of the plants. The diseased tissues were cultured on potato dextrose agar medium after washing and surface disinfection. Morphological identification of the species was done using valid identification keys, and the combined analysis method of the data of tef 1α and rpb2 gene regions was used to confirm their identity. The pathogenicity test was performed and the results indicated that the identified species were pathogenic. Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium oxysporum species were identified as sugarcane pathogens. This is the first report of F. culmorum and F. oxysporum species as pathogens of sugarcane in Iran.

Management methods of whiteflies that transmit plants pathogenic viruses

Arezoo pakdel

Pakdel, A., & Khanjani, M. (2024). Management methods of whiteflies that transmit plants pathogenic viruses. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),27-41.

Most of the plant viruses that have recently spread in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions and have limited the production of important plant products are transmitted by whiteflies. Three important whitefly species Bemisia tabaci, Trialeurodes vaporariorum and Trialeurodes abutiloneus are known as carriers of most plant viruses. Plant viruses transmitted by whiteflies are in the genera: Begomovirus, Crinivirus, Ipomovirus, Carlavirus, Torradovirus and Polerovirus. Management of whiteflies is difficult because of their wide host range, high reproduction rate, large population size, and also their resistance to insecticides, but new methods of chemical, biological control and the production of resistant transgenic plants have been developed to manage them, which are described in this article.

Epidemiology and management methods of rice sheath blight disease

Hadis Shahbazi

Shahbazi , H. (2024). Epidemiology and management methods of rice sheath blight disease. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),42-54.

Sheath blight (ShB) caused by the soil-borne fungus Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA is one of the most important diseases of rice in the world, which is also common in some areas of rice cultivation in Iran. The pathogen usually overwinters as sclerotia in soil and plant debries and mycelium in plant debris and seeds. Sclerotia can survive inactive in soil, and rice debris for several years. After transplanting susceptible rice cultivars, the sclerotia germinate, produce mycelium, and infect the lower sheaths of the rice plant. The characteristic symptoms of ShB are green-gray water-soaked lesions, spherical to oval, or irregularly discolored on rice sheath. The lesions are connected, and the center of the lesions becomes gray to light brown with a dark brown-to-red border, by passing time. Factors such as the rice variety, plant density, and growth stage, initial inoculum population of the pathogen, environmental conditions, and plant nutrition affect the disease severity and epidemic. The disease management is difficult, because of the wide host range of the pathogen, its ability to survive for a long time in the soil, and the low level of resistance of rice cultivars to it. Proper management such as avoiding cultivation of dwarf and high tillering cultivars in fields with a history of pathogen presence, seed disinfection, proper plant densities, and optimal use of nitrogen fertilizer, field sanitation, and chemical control can prevent the epidemy and damage of the disease.

Application of phages for biological control of plants pathogenic bacteria

Mina Rastgou

Rastgou, M., & Honarvar, S. (2024). Application of phages for biological control of plants pathogenic bacteria. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),55-64.

Pathogenic bacteria are one of the most important factors in reducing the yield of plant products. In the past, the management of these pathogens was limited to the use of antibacterial compounds or resistance inducers, but with the discovery of bacteriophages in recent decades, attention to their use has increased. Bacteriophages or phages are viruses that specifically affect bacterial cells. Currently, hundreds of bacteriophages have been isolated and tested against plant pathogenic bacteria, and there are still many more that need to be investigated. This approach requires special protocols to identify new phages, understand the emergence of phage-resistant clones and the infectivity of other bacterial species. Phage therapy or the use of phages to biological control plant pathogenic bacteria due to its cheapness, very high specificity of phages against bacteria, no negative effect on humans or animals, and no environmental pollution, as a suitable method to control these pathogens can be considered.

The role of fungal volatile organic compounds in plant disease management

Maryam Mirtalebi

Abshang, A., & Mirtalebi, M. (2024). The role of fungal volatile organic compounds in plant disease management. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 65-74.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are carbon-based organic chemicals derived from primary or secondary metabolism which are released as gases from different solids and liquids. Many intra- and inter-kingdom ecological interactions between living organisms take place through VOCs. The volatile organic compounds released by pathogenic fungi have a negative effect on the growth of plants. The release of volatiles by these fungi in the soil inhibits growth and results in a decrease in shoot length, root surface area, and plant biomass. In addition to negatively impacting plant development, these compounds generated by pathogenic fungi can also serve as growth regulators, modifying plant architecture and stimulating growth. The promotion of plant growth can, consequently, be beneficial for pathogens by offering a larger habitat for surface colonization and increasing their survival.

These compounds also increase the biosynthesis of strigolactones and root growth in interaction with fungi, facilitating the identification of mycorrhizal fungi for the roots, increasing the colonization of fungi on the roots. The antibiotic effects of VOCs are involved in the inhibition of many plant pathogens. Some of these fungal compounds have inhibitory activity in the soil and some have insect repellent and nematicidal properties.

The impact of Osage orange fruit and leaf aqueous and ethanolic extracts on Erwinia amylovora, the cause of apple and pear fireblight

Bahram Abedy

Selahvarzi, T., Abedy, B., & Beikzadeh, N. (2024). The impact of Osage orange fruit and leaf aqueous and ethanolic extracts on Erwinia amylovora, the cause of apple and pear fireblight. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 75-88.

Fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora is one of the most important diseases of apple and pear trees in the world. The purpose of this research was to determine the antibacterial effect of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the fruit and leaf of the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) against the cause of this disease. The effect of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of leaf and fruit of this plant on the growth of

E. amylovora colony in eight concentrations was tested by disk diffusion method. Antioxidant activity and total phenol of these extracts were also measured. The experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications for each treatment in laboratory conditions. The results showed that the type of extract and plant organ are effective in the antibacterial properties, antioxidant activity, and the amount of total phenol. The ethanolic extract of the fruit, at a concentration of 1000 mg/ml with an average diameter 5.57 mm inhibitory halo had the highest inhibitory effect against E. amylovora, antioxidant activity, and total phenol content, while the aqueous extract of the fruit and the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaf weren't significantly effective. Therefore, the ethanolic extract of Osage orange fruit has an inhibitory effect on the growth of E. amylovora colony and can be considered as a natural compound in the management of the disease.

New technologies for detecting mycotoxins in plant yields and products

Maryam Mousivand

Mousivand, M. (2024). New technologies for detecting mycotoxins in plant yields and products. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 89-103.

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites known as global concerns on humans and livestock health regarding to their toxicity and carcinogenicity. Increasing demand for fast, simple and low-cost detection of these compounds, especially on-site, have been lead to develop various biosensors. Although antibodies have been the most widely used diagnostic probes in biosensors for several decades but monoclonal antibody production is difficult for mycotoxins as small and non-immunogenic molecules. Therefore, aptameric probes have been emerged as a new technology for mycotoxin monitoring. Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that detect target molecule by folding into a three-dimensional conformation, with a binding affinity equal to that of monoclonal antibodies. Aptamers have been considered as the most important competitors of antibodies for biosensor development regarding to their significant advantages in terms of no limiting in target type, smaller size, higher stability, synthetic nature and low cost. Exploiting aptameric probes in biosensor designing have been led to aptasensors development for specific and sensitive tracking of target molecules, and mycotoxins. The aptameric probes, experimental screening methodology, various aptasensors and their applications in detecting mycotoxins has been described, and discussed in this article.

The impact of three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on wheat take-all disease caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici

Safar Nikmaram

Nikmaram, S., Sadravi, M., & Ghaderi Zefrehee, M.(2024). The impact of three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on wheat take-all disease caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1), 104-112.

Take-all caused by soil-borne fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici is one of the most important diseases of wheat in the world, reported to cause up to 50% yield losses. The disease has also been reported from different areas of wheat cultivation in Iran. Biological control is a healthy and environment-friendly method for managing plant diseases, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can play an important role in this field. This research was conducted to determine the effect of three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the severity of this disease. The pathogen was isolated from diseased wheat plants in Kigiluyeh and Boyar-Ahmad Province, southwestern Iran. The effect of three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizoglomus intraradices, and Blaszkowskia deserticola alone, and in combination on the disease severity and growth indices of wheat was tested under greenhouse conditions in a completely randomized design. All treatments of mycorrhizal fungi reduced disease severity and increased growth indices compared to control plants, but F. mosseae was more effective than others. Therefor

F. mosseae can be used to reduce the severity of the disease and improve the growth indices of wheat.

The effect of environmental stresses on the epidemic of charcoal rot disease in legumes

Ali Dehghani

Siahpoush, S., & Dehghani, A. (2024). The effect of environmental stresses on the epidemic of charcoal rot disease in legumes. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),113-124

Charcoal rot caused by soil-borne fungus Macrophomina phaseolina is one of the most important fungal diseases of legumes that is prevalent in conditions where plants are under stress. Climate change during the last few decades has made the environmental conditions difficult for the optimal cultivation and production of legumes. Drought stress is the most important abiotic stress in legumes production. The predisposition of plants to being infected with drought-friendly pathogens is one of the grounds for the occurrence and spread of diseases such as charcoal rot. Considering that the cultivation and production of legumes in alkaline and calcareous lands in Iran is very widespread and plants are exposed to various environmental stresses, especially drought during the growing season, the importance of this disease, its damage, host range and biology of the pathogen, epidemic suitable conditions, and a summary of researches results on the disease in Iran are described in this article .

The application of biopolymers in the management of plants viral diseases

parastoo pouraziz

Pouraziz, P., & Koolivand, D. (2024). The application of biopolymers in the management of plants viral diseases. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),125-134.
Polymers with natural origin are known as biopolymers. Due to their biocompatibility and biodegradable properties, biopolymers have a wide range of applications in various fields such as agriculture, medicine, and industry. Biopolymers limit the activities of plant pathogens by increasing the immune system of plants by influencing resistance genes and also activating resistance mechanisms. Therefore, the use of these substances to combat plant pathogens has found a wide application in agriculture. The use of biopolymers to deal with plant pathogens such as fungi and bacteria is a suitable solution to reduce their damage. Also, treatment of the virus-infected plant with biopolymers reduces the symptoms and damage of the disease. The molecular antiviral mechanisms of some biopolymers such as chitosan, chitin, oligochitosan, β-glucans, lentine, alginate, hydrogel and their compounds in the management of plants viral diseases are described in this article.

Application of new information technologies in plant pathology

SeyyedehAtefeh Hosseini

Hosseini, S. A., & Anvari, Z. (2024). Application of new information technologies in plant pathology. Plant Pathology Science, 13(1),135-148.
Population growth has put significant pressure on the food supply chain, making it even more challenging to ensure that everyone has access to adequate, healthy, and nutritious food. The use of new information technologies based on artificial intelligence in agriculture can play a significant role in increasing the production of healthy plant products and ensuring food security for humans. All plant crops are highly vulnerable to diseases and timely and correct management of diseases is essential to optimize their production. New information technologies such as remote sensing, analysis of plant absorption light spectra, and the use of specialized Internet software for the diagnosis of plant diseases on mobile phones can help in the rapid and accurate diagnosis of diseases, the implementation of a forecasting program and their monitoring to prevent their spread, and the timely implementation of their management methods. The unique applications of these new information technologies in the identification, monitoring and management of plant diseases are described in this article.