Survival of the phytopathogen Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora in sterile and non‐sterile soil, sand and their admixture

Abstract

Survival of phytopathogens in irrigation water and irrigated soil is of major concern to the agricultural community. In the present study, an Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora strain was tested for survival capability in three non‐sterile and heat‐sterilized soil matrices (soil, sand and soil + sand) over 35 d. In all non‐sterile soil matrices, Erw. carotovora subsp. carotovora numbers declined below the detection limit over 35 d, the main variance being the decline rate related to nutrients available in the different matrices (soil, soil + sand and sand respectively). In heat‐sterilized soil and soil + sand matrices Erw. carotovora subsp. carotovora revealed a regrowth, while in sterile sand matrix its decline was lower over the same time period. In previous published reports, when soil was sterilized by irradiation, such a regrowth was not observed. Application of an initial single load of sodium nitrate solution (70 mg l−1) was found to extend bacteria survival rate in non‐sterile and sterile soil columns. In sterile soil columns supplemented with sodium nitrate, Erw. carotovora subsp. carotovora did survive well for up to 60 d, with a major regrowth over the first 12 d and decline up to day 60, reaching initial loading numbers. The information on the potential survival of Erw. carotovora subsp. carotovora in soil for up to 35 d and regrowth in sterile soil should be of concern, especially when irrigation is performed with poor quality water.

Survival Studies with the Fire Blight Pathogen Erwinia amylovora in Soil and in a Soil‐inhabiting Insect

“…1a) is comparable with other reports concerning survival of bacteria such as Escherichia coli (Recorbet et al., 1992), Pseudomonas fluorescence (Meikle et al., 1995) or lake‐derived bacteria (Kottler and Alexander, 1996) in this environment. The cell density of the phytopathogen Erwinia carotovora , which is widely distributed in soil and aquatic environments (Meneley and Stanghellini, 1976; Maddox and Harrison, 1988), also declined after 35 days below the detection limit (Armon et al., 1995) although the bacteria multiplied briefly in heat‐sterilized soil as observed for E. amylovora (Fig. 1b).…”

Caracterização de solos de pernambuco quanto à supressividade a Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum

“…No entanto, já foi constatado que valores elevados de pH, P, Ca e Mg propiciam aumentos significativos nos níveis populacionais desta bactéria no solo (Kikumoto, 1980;Pérombelon & Hyman, 1989;Armon et al, 1995). Por outro lado, a podridão-mole em couve-chinesa foi eficientemente controlada em campo pela fertilização do solo com hidróxido de cálcio (Kim & Yeoung, 2004).…”

“…Rif no solo pode ser atribuída à competição com bactérias nativas que utilizam os nutrientes mais eficientemente, a exemplo do constatado por Armon et al (1995), mas o mecanismo de antibiose também pode estar envolvido, pois Kikumoto (2000) destacou que a diferença na habilidade de isolados desta bactéria sobreviverem no solo estava relacionada à sensibilidade a bacteriocinas. Este autor demonstrou o potencial do controle biológico da podridão-mole em couve-chinesa, baseado na utilização de isolados avirulentos de Pcc produtores de bacteriocinas.…”

Detection, quantification and characterization of Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora contaminating pepper seeds

“…However, differentiation between Ecc and Eca on the basis of cellular fatty acid profile ( De Boer & Sasser, 1986) or RAPD‐PCR polymorphism ( Maki‐Valkama & Karjalainen, 1994 ; Parent et al ., 1996 ) has been suggested. Soft‐rot erwinias are common on the aerial surfaces of pepper plants, in the root zone and in the soil ( Armon et al ., 1995 ). It is not known whether Ecc can be transmitted by pepper seeds.…”