JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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Pseudomonas syringae is a phytopathogenic bacterium with a wide host range. The biology of this bacterium consists of two phases. The first phase is the indication of disease on the host plant which generally appears in the form of necrosis on the aerial parts of plant (pathogenicity phase). The second phase is a rapid multiplication of bacteria on the aerial surface of the plant without inflicting any defense response (epiphytic phase). In this study, the impact of pathogenic virulence genes of aggress, dsp, ice, cor and hrp genes in the epiphytic process of Pseudomonas syringae on resistant and sensitive varieties of tomato is examined. The population dynamism of bacterial colonization on the root, stem and leaves was studied.

The results indicated that the hrp genes system (hypersensitive reaction and pathogenicity) in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, P. s. pv. syringae and P. s. pv. phaseolicola and the coronatine gene system in P. s. pv. tomato are necessary for colonization on both host and non-host plants. The mutants isolates of hrp and cor compared with wild isolates could colonize at a lower level on all parts of the plant. In contrast, the ice (Ice nucleation), aggress (Agressivity) and dsp (disease specific) gene systems had no significant impact on the epiphytic colonization of P. s. pv. syringae. However, under in vitro conditions no significant difference was observed among the wild type isolates and their mutants in king B medium in the bioscreen machine. It is concluded that the lower multiplication of P. syringae mutants in planta is due to the plant-bacteria interaction.

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To understand the role of relative humidity rate, host genotype, inoculation method and growth stage in epidemiology of bean common blight, two greenhouse experiments were carried out monitoring epiphytic population size of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap) and disease severity. The result showed significant differences among genotypes, inoculation methods and growth stages for epiphytic population size and sam effects except genotypes for disease severity. The epiphytic population size was significantly higher on spray inoculated Khomein cultivar of bean during flowering (R6). However, the relative humidity rates did not significantly affect population dynamics of epiphytic Xap and the disease severity. Two field experiments were also carried out to determine the effects of irrigation systems (furrow irrigation and overhead sprinkler irrigation), inoculation method, growth stage and their interactions on epiphytic population size of Xap and disease severity. The result showed that the epiphytic population size and disease severity were higher on spray inoculated plants irrigated with overhead sprinkler system during pods filling (R8). In this study, a significant positive correlation was found between epiphytic population size of Xap and bean common bacterial blight severity.