Effects of granular nematicides on growth and microbial antagonism to Rhizoctonia solani

Effects of nematicides on growth and microbial antagonism toRhizoctonia solani were investigated as part of a study on the mechanisms involved in the increased incidence of this pathogen in nematicide-treated potato crops.Ethoprophos inhibited mycelial growth ofR. solani on potato dextrose agar (PDA), Czapek Dox agar (CDA) and on water agar (WA). Aldicarb stimulated its growth on PDA up to 14% but not on CDA and WA. Oxamyl inhibited mycelial growth on CDA and WA, but not on PDA.Ethoprophos and aldicarb stimulated development of the mycoparasiteVerticillium biguttatum on cultures ofR. solani. The effect was dependent on the medium on which the host fungus was grown. ForRhizoctonia cultures on PDA, growth of the mycoparasite was highly promoted by aldicarb and to a lesser extent by ethoprophos. WhenR. solani was grown on CDA, the development of the mycoparasite was not affected by aldicarb, slightly stimulated by ethoprophos and slightly inhibited by oxamyl. On water agar, its development on the host mycelium was not affected.In field trials on sandy soil, nematicides encouragedV. biguttatum probably by increased availability of substrate (i.e.Rhizoctonia mycelium) perhaps through reduced activity of the mycophagous fauna.Soil fungistasis was increased by ethoprophos and to a lesser extent by aldicarb at very high doses. At normal field rates, no effects can be expected on fungistasis. So the increased stem and stolon infection of potatoes in nematicide-treated fields was not caused by a direct effect of the nematicides on growth ofR. solani or by suppressing the microbial antagonism.Samenvatting De invloed van granulaire nematiciden op de groei vanRhizoctonia solani en op het microbiële antagonisme tegen deze schimmel werd onderzocht in het kader van een studie over de mechanismen die een rol spelen bij de toename van de aantasting in een met nematiciden behandeld aardappelgewas.Ethoprofos remde de myceliumgroei vanR. solani op aardappeldextrose agar (PDA), Czapek Dox agar (CDA) en op wateragar (WA). Aldicarb stimuleerde op PDA de groei met maximaal 14%. Op CDA en WA werd geen effect van aldicarb waargenomen. Oxamyl veroorzaakte groeiremming op CDA en WA, maar niet op PDA.Ethoprofos en aldicarb stimuleerden de ontwikkeling van de mycoparasietVerticillium biguttatum op cultures vanR. solani. De mate van groeistimulering was afhankelijk van de voedingsbodem waarop de waard,R. solani, werd gekweekt. De groei vanV. biguttatum werd sterk gestimuleerd door aldicarb en in geringere mate door ethoprofos, wanneer de waard gekweekt werd op PDA. Aldicarb had geen effect op de mycoparasiet wanneerR. solani op CDA gekweekt werd, terwijl ethoprofos de groei wel iets stimuleerde en oxamyl een gering remmend effect had. Op WA werd geen effect van de nematiciden op het mycoparasitisme vastgesteld.In veldproeven op zandgrond stimuleerden de nematiciden het voorkomen vanV. biguttatum op de stolonen. Het effect werd waarschijnlijk veroorzaakt door een verhoogde substraat beschikbaarheid (d.w.z. mycelium vanR. solani). De verhoogde beschikbaarheid van dit mycelium kan samenhangen met een door nematiciden gereduceerde activiteit van de fungivore bodemfauna.De bodemfungistase werd verhoogd door ethoprofos en, in geringere mate, door aldicarb bij hogere doseringen. Bij de in de praktijk aanbevolen doseringen kan echter geen effect op de fungistase verwacht worden. De toename in stengel- en stolonaantasting van aardappelen, geteeld in met granulaire nematiciden behandelde percelen, kon niet worden toegeschreven aan een direct effect van de nematiciden op de groei vanR. solani of aan een vermindering van het microbiële antagonisme.     

Infection of potato by Rhizoctonia solani: effect of anastomosis group

Glasshouse and field experiments showed that the pathogenicity and disease type on potato varied between different anastomosis groups (AGs) of Rhizoctonia solani. For example, severe stem and stolon disease developed in plants inoculated with a single isolate of AG3PT and AG5. Severe root disease was observed with single isolates of AG8 and to a lesser extent AG3PT, but rarely with single isolates of the other AGs tested. In both field and glasshouse experiments the AG2‐1 isolate (X81) produced only small lesions (<5 mm). However, this was not representative of two other AG2‐1 isolates. When AG2‐1 isolates of the three different rDNA IGS1 types were tested in a glasshouse trial, one caused more severe stem and stolon infection than AG3PT. In the field experiment, the yield of tubers, by weight, was significantly less (P < 0·05) in all inoculated plants than for uninoculated (control) plants. Yield losses were greatest and tuber numbers smallest in plots inoculated with an AG8 isolate, suggesting that root infection is important in determining quantitative yield loss. The incidence of black scurf was greatest in the progeny tubers in plots inoculated with AG3PT (83·9%), whereas only very small amounts of black scurf developed on tubers from plants infected with AG2‐1 (510 bp) or AG5 isolates. This is supported by laboratory tests, where isolates of AG3PT produced significantly more sclerotia on potato dextrose agar than isolates of AGs 2‐1, 4, 5 and 8.     

Dynamics of soilborne Rhizoctonia solani in the presence of Trichoderma harzianum: effects on stem canker, black scurf and progeny tubers of potato

Stem canker and black scurf are diseases of potato caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani . Spatiotemporal experimentation and empirical modelling were applied for the first time to investigate the effect of antagonistic Trichoderma harzianum on the dynamics of soilborne R. solani on individual potato plants. Trichoderma harzianum reduced the severity of symptoms, expressed as 'rhizoctonia stem lesion index' (RSI), during the first 7 days post-inoculation when the inoculum of R. solani was placed at certain distances (30–60 mm) from the host. For example, with inoculum at 40 mm from the host, RSI was 6 and 40 with and without T. harzianum , respectively. At later observation times, the antagonistic effect was overcome. Trichoderma harzianum reduced the severity of black scurf on progeny tubers. Furthermore, the mean number of progeny tubers per potato plant was reduced by the biocontrol treatment (means of 6·5 ± 1·1 and 9·9 ± 2·7 tubers per plant with and without T. harzianum , respectively), as was the proportion of small (0·1–20·0 g) tubers (48% and 66% with and without T. harzianum , respectively). Additionally, there were fewer malformed and green-coloured tubers in pots treated with T. harzianum than in those without T. harzianum .