Spores of Streptomyces melanosporofaciens EF-76, an actinomycete that inhibits the growth of several plant pathogens, were incorporated in beads of chitosan and polyphosphate using the entrapment technique called complex coacervation. The degradation of spore-loaded beads was monitored by measuring the residual amount of chitosan in soil and by enumerating the S. melanosporofaciens population over time. After the introduction of spore-loaded chitosan beads into soil, the amount of chitosan in sterile soil remained at 1.550 mg/g throughout the first week and diminished to 0.101 mg/g after 7 weeks. Bead degradation proceeded faster in non-sterile soil but a progressive release of both chitosan oligomers and the antagonistic microbial agent was nevertheless observed. Application of these spore-loaded chitosan beads to seed potato tubers protected progeny tubers against common scab.

Spores of the biocontrol agent, Streptomyces melanosporofaciens EF-76, were entrapped by complex coacervation in beads composed of a macromolecular complex (MC) of chitosan and polyphosphate. A proportion of spores entrapped in beads survived the entrapment procedure as shown by treating spores from chitosan beads with a dye allowing the differentiation of live and dead cells. The spore-loaded chitosan beads could be digested by a chitosanase, suggesting that, once introduced in soil, the beads would be degraded to release the biocontrol agent. Spore-loaded beads were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy because the release of the biological agent depends on the spore distribution in the chitosan beads. The microscopic examination revealed that the beads had a porous surface and contained a network of inner microfibrils. Spores were entrapped in both the chitosan microfibrils and the bead lacuna.

Stem incorporation of gibberellins (GA4/7 60:40) by injecting a liquid formulation or implanting a solid formulation was evaluated for promoting sexual reproductive development and for effects on vegetative development and foliage chlorosis in seedling and grafted white spruce, Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss; seedling Norway spruce, Piceaabies (L.) Karst.; and jack pine, Pinusbanksiana Lamb., seed trees. Spruces were treated with a single application of 0.76 or 1.53 mg GA4/7 per square centimetre of stem cross-sectional area at breast height during the late stage of shoot elongation (June 9 for white spruce and June 19 and 20 for Norway spruce). Jack pine was treated with a single early (July 5) or late (August 15) application of 1.53 mg GA4/7/cm2 or a split early–late application of 0.76 mg GA4/7/cm2. Results were evaluated in the subsequent season (i) by counting seed and pollen strobili, developing vegetative shoots, latent vegetative buds, and dead buds and (ii) by assessing foliage chlorosis and mortality. The numbers of seed strobili were increased by injections of GA4/7 at low and high application rates on seedling white spruce and Norway spruce and by the high application rate on grafted white spruce; implants were effective on seedling white and Norway spruce at the high application rate. In jack pine, the number of seed strobili was not increased by GA4/7. The numbers of pollen strobili were not significantly increased by GA4/7 treatments to white spruce or Norway spruce but were increased on jack pine by a single early injection at the high rate and split injections at the low rate. The number of developing vegetative shoots was reduced by GA4/7 injections at both rates on white spruce grafted trees and Norway spruce; the implants reduced them only on the grafted white spruce given the low rate. For the spruces, treatments with GA4/7 did not influence bud mortality. Foliage chlorosis and mortality, evident on jack pine but not on white or Norway spruce trees, was more severe with injections than with implants.

de recherche sur l'étude et la valorisation de la diversité microbienne, Sherbrooke (Québec) Canada J1K 2R1 Drawing on the knowledge gained in the encapsulation technique called complex coacervation, an experiment was conducted in order to assess the faisability of successfully entrapping spores of a streptomycete strain in beads of chitosan-polyphosphate. Chitosan is a biopolymer endowed with worthwhile physico-chemical characteristics for use in forming hydrogels with polyanionic counterions (Kas, 1997). This matrix was already used for the preparation of gel beads and controlled release of an anticancer drug (Mi et al., 1999a, b) and for the entrapment of microbial cells (Vorlop and Klein, 1981, 1987). The chitosan-polyphosphate complex has also been used as a slow-release phosphate fertilizer (Frossard et al., 1994).Microscopic techniques were used to characterize the beads. Thin sections of these beads were colored with toluidine blue in order to reveal the distribution of spores as well as the microfibril network of the chitosan-polyphosphate matrix. Thereafter, the dye live/dead evidenced the viability of the entrapped spores. Phase-contrast and interferential-contrast microscopy served to characterize further the network of microfibrils.On figure 1 appears a 3-µm section of the entrapped spores in a bead of chitosan 1% stained with toluidine blue.