Prevention of outbreaks of bacterial plant diseases

Added on 24 February 2023

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Prevention of outbreaks of bacterial plant diseases

Bacterial diseases can cause considerable damage and loss of quality in some crops. But there are hardly any plant protection products available to combat the plant pathogenic bacteria. That is why the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs of Wageningen University & Research investigated the different options for prevention and control the outbreaks of bacterial diseases during the cultivation in the greenhouse.

The research focused on prevention and control of three bacterial diseases in different crops: hairy roots in tomato (caused by infection with Rhizobium rhizogenes), bacterial blight of Pelargonium (caused by Xanthomonas hortorum pv pelargonii) and bacterial brown spot of Phalaenopsis (caused by Acidovorax cattleyae). Various measures for prevention and control of bacterial diseases have been investigated within the project.

Prevent biofirm

The first possible intervention is the selective prevention of the build-up of biofilm of plant pathogenic bacteria onthe leaf or root surfaces . Bacterial infections begin very often within the biofilm formed on the plant surface. On the other hand, there are also beneficial bacteria present within this biofilm, which are important for the proper functioning of the crop. That is why it is important to check if it is possible to selectively influence the ability of plant pathogenic bacteria to form a biofilm.