Abstract
Late wilt, a disease severely affecting maize fields throughout Israel, is characterized by the relatively rapid wilting of maize plants from the tasseling stage to maturity. The disease is caused by the fungus Magnaporthiopsis maydis, a soil and seed-borne pathogen. The pathogen is controlled traditionally through the use of maize cultivars having reduced sensitivity to the disease. Nevertheless, such cultivars may lose their immunity after several years of intensive growth due to the presence of high virulent isolates of M. maydis. Alternative effective and economical chemical treatment to the disease was recently established but is dependent on the use of a dripline assigned for two adjacent rows and exposes the risk of fungicide resistance. In the current work, eight marine and soil isolates of Trichoderma spp., known for high mycoparasitic potential, were tested as biocontrol agents against M. maydis. An in vitro confront plate assay revealed strong antagonistic activity against the pathogen of two T. longibrachiatum isolates and of T. asperelloides. These species produce soluble metabolites that can inhibit or kill the maize pathogen in submerged and solid media culture growth assays. In greenhouse experiments accompanied by real-time PCR tracking of the pathogen, the Trichoderma species or their metabolites managed to improve the seedlings’ wet biomass and reduced the pathogen DNA in the maize roots. A follow-up experiment carried out through a whole growth session, under field conditions, provided important support to the Trichoderma species’ beneficial impact. The direct addition of T. longibrachiatum and even more T. asperelloides to the seeds, with the sowing, resulted in a yield improvement, a significant increase in the growth parameters and crops, to the degree of noninfected plants. These bioprotective treatments also restricted the pathogen DNA in the host tissues (up to 98%) and prevented the disease symptoms. The results encourage more in-depth research to uncover such biological agents’ potential and the methods to implement them in commercial fields. If adequately developed into final products and combined with other control methods, the biological control could play an important role in maize crop protection against Late wilt.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Two T. longibrachiatum isolates antagonized M. maydis in vitro.
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Second interactor
- T. longibrachiatumTrichoderma longibrachiatume0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- strong antagonistic activitye0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“An in vitro confront plate assay revealed strong antagonistic activity against the pathogen of two T. longibrachiatum isolates”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
T. asperelloides antagonized M. maydis in vitro.
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Second interactor
- T. asperelloidesTrichoderma asperelloidese0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- strong antagonistic activitye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“An in vitro confront plate assay revealed strong antagonistic activity against the pathogen of two T. longibrachiatum isolates and of T. asperelloides”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Soluble metabolites from these species inhibited or killed the maize pathogen in culture.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These species produce soluble metabolites that can inhibit or kill the maize pathogen in submerged and solid media culture growth assays”
Claim · model-written summary
Trichoderma species or metabolites improved seedling wet biomass in greenhouse experiments.
- Treatment
- Trichoderma species or their metabolitese0
- Outcome
- seedlings’ wet biomasse0
- Direction
- improvee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the Trichoderma species or their metabolites managed to improve the seedlings’ wet biomass”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Trichoderma species or metabolites reduced pathogen DNA in maize roots.
- Treatment
- Trichoderma species or their metabolitese0
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Outcome
- pathogen DNA in the maize rootse0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the Trichoderma species or their metabolites managed to improve the seedlings’ wet biomass and reduced the pathogen DNA in the maize roots”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed application of T. longibrachiatum improved field yield.
- Treatment
- T. longibrachiatume0
- Interactor
- T. longibrachiatumTrichoderma longibrachiatume0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- improvemente0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The direct addition of T. longibrachiatum and even more T. asperelloides to the seeds, with the sowing, resulted in a yield improvement”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed application of T. asperelloides improved field yield more strongly.
- Treatment
- T. asperelloidese0
- Interactor
- T. asperelloidesTrichoderma asperelloidese0biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- improvemente0
- Comparator
- T. longibrachiatume0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The direct addition of T. longibrachiatum and even more T. asperelloides to the seeds, with the sowing, resulted in a yield improvement”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed application of Trichoderma increased growth parameters and crops to levels of noninfected plants.
- Treatment
- Trichodermat0
- Outcome
- growth parameters and cropse0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Comparator
- noninfected plantse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a significant increase in the growth parameters and crops, to the degree of noninfected plants”
t0“Trichoderma Biological Control to Protect Sensitive Maize Hybrids”
Claim · model-written summary
Bioprotective treatments restricted pathogen DNA in host tissues by up to 98%.
- Treatment
- bioprotective treatmentse0
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Outcome
- pathogen DNA in the host tissuese0
- Direction
- restrictede0
- Value
- up to 98%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These bioprotective treatments also restricted the pathogen DNA in the host tissues (up to 98%)”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Bioprotective treatments prevented late wilt symptoms.
- Treatment
- bioprotective treatmentse0
- Interactor
- pathogene0pathogen
- Outcome
- prevented the disease symptomse0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These bioprotective treatments also restricted the pathogen DNA in the host tissues (up to 98%) and prevented the disease symptoms”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose developing biological control with other methods for maize late wilt protection.
- Outcome
- biological control could play an important role in maize crop protection against Late wilte0
- Qualifier
- If adequately developed into final products and combined with other control methodse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“If adequately developed into final products and combined with other control methods, the biological control could play an important role in maize crop protection against Late wilt”
The same questions in other papers
Trichoderma longibrachiatum · yield · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
1 in the opposite direction
- no effect
Trichoderma · growth · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
18 papers in the same direction as this paper · 6 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
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See all 26 papers →metabolite · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
8 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
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See all 10 papers →Trichoderma · organism · Zea mays (maize)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
metabolite · organism · Zea mays (maize)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.