Mitigation of the Impact of Vascular Wilt and Soil Hypoxia on Cape Gooseberry Plants by Foliar Application of Synthetic Elicitors

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:italic>Physalis peruviana</jats:italic> L. crops are exposed to different stress conditions that limit their productivity. Within these conditions, abiotic stress caused by water and biotic stress by <jats:italic>Fusarium oxysporum</jats:italic> f. sp. <jats:italic>physali</jats:italic> (Foph) are frequent at commercial levels. The foliar application of synthetic elicitors can be a tool to mitigate the negative impacts of these stresses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction between Foph inoculation and three foliar applications of brassinosteroids (BR), salicylic acid (SA), and a commercial elicitor based on botanical extracts (BE) of <jats:italic>Echinacea purpurea</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Potentilla erecta</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Aloe vera</jats:italic> on the physiological [stomatal conductance (<jats:italic>g</jats:italic><jats:sub>S</jats:sub>), leaf water potential (Ψ<jats:sub>wf</jats:sub>), chlorophyll fluorescence, and growth] and biochemical [photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde (MDA) production, and proline content] responses of cape gooseberry plants subjected to a 6-day waterlogging period. The established treatments were as follows: 1) waterlogged plants without Foph; 2) waterlogged plants with Foph; 3) waterlogged, noninoculated (Foph<jats:sup>−</jats:sup>) plants treated foliarly with BR, SA, or BE; and 4) waterlogged, inoculated (Foph<jats:sup>+</jats:sup>) plants treated foliarly with BR, SA, or BE. The results showed that the foliar application of BR or SA reduced vascular wilt development in plants subjected to a hypoxia period. In addition, three applications of BR, SA, or BE favored <jats:italic>g</jats:italic><jats:sub>S</jats:sub>, Ψ<jats:sub>wf</jats:sub>, growth, and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in cape gooseberry plants under the interaction between Foph and oxygen deficit in the soil. Also, higher photosynthetic pigment and proline contents were observed in plants treated with elicitors under stress combination, whereas a lower MDA production was evidenced in this group of plants. In conclusion, BR, SA, or BE can help mitigate the negative effects of the simultaneous occurrence of Foph and a waterlogging condition for 6 days in cape gooseberry plants.</jats:p>

Foliar Growth Regulator Sprays Induced Tolerance to Combined Heat Stress by Enhancing Physiological and Biochemical Responses in Rice

“…The parameters of chlorophyll a fluorescence are a fast and non-destructive technique that allows estimating the plant's tolerance or acclimatization to abiotic stress conditions (Chaerle et al, 2007;Kalaji et al, 2017). Parameters such as the F v /F m ratio have been used as plant acclimatization indicators to stressful conditions (Alvarado-Sanabria et al, 2017;Chávez-Arias et al, 2020). In this research, SC plants showed the lowest values of this variable, mainly in "F2000" rice plants.…”

“…The crop stress index (CSI) and relative tolerance index (RTI) are used to determine if the treatments evaluated help to mitigate different stresses (abiotic and biotic) and have a positive effect on plant physiology (Castro-Duque et al, 2020;Chávez-Arias et al, 2020). CSI values can range between zero and one, representing the non-stressed and stressed conditions, respectively (Lee et al, 2010).…”

Hyperspectral response of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) plants inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. physali for vascular wilt detection

“…The mycelium spreads fast via xylem, producing microconidia that can rapidly invade the plant, generating vascular obstructions caused by hyphae that block the flow of water and nutrients (Ownley and Trigiano, 2016). In addition, the biotic stress caused by the pathogen infection impairs the plant physiology of diseased plants (Villarreal-Navarrete et al, 2017;Chaves-Gómez et al, 2020b). As a result, the visual alterations caused by the disease are chlorosis of the basal leaves, affecting later stages in the entire plant, followed by moderate to severe defoliation, and finally necrosis and death of the plant (Robles Carrión et al, 2014).…”

Physiological Response of Cape Gooseberry Plants to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. physali, Fusaric Acid, and Water Deficit in a Hydrophonic System

“…physali (Foph) strain MAP5 (Laboratory of Biological Control, Agrosavia) was used as the pathogen source. The strain underwent previous morphological, molecular, and pathogenic characterization on cape gooseberry plants (Simbaqueba et al, 2018 ; Chaves-Gómez et al, 2019 ; Chávez-Arias et al, 2020 ). The pathogen was multiplied in malt extract (ME) liquid medium (Oxoid®, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, United States) with constant stirring at 125 rpm, under darkness at 25°C for 10 days.…”

“…In the last decade, research about the interaction between water deficit and fusarium wilt incidence has also gained importance, since crop plants (such as cotton, tomato, and banana) have shown more severe disease development under water stress conditions (Ghaemi et al, 2011 ; Meddich et al, 2018 ; Orr and Nelson, 2018 ). Recent studies have been focused mainly on the effect of waterlogging and its impact on Foph incidence in cape gooseberry plants (Villarreal-Navarrete et al, 2017 ; Chávez-Arias et al, 2019 , 2020 ). Those reports concluded that waterlogging caused a higher vascular wilt incidence, and that the physiological (stomatal conductance, F v /F m ratio) and biochemical (MDA, and proline content) variables can be useful to evaluate the effect of single or combined stresses on this plant species.…”