Salicylic acid on mycelial growth and conidial germination of four Fusarium pathogens causing head blight

Volume 13, Issue 3
September 2024
Pages 243-253

Document Type : Original Research

Author

Department of Agriculture, Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus, P. O. Box: 6091, Syria.

Abstract
Root and foliar application of exogenous salicylic acid (SA), a critical plant defense hormone, has enhanced adult host resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), one of the most devastating fungal wheat diseases. In contrast, information on the direct effects of FHB pathogens on in vitro growth has been hardly available. To elucidate this, the antifungal activity of different concentrations of SA was investigated on four Fusarium pathogens with diverse pathogenicity under in vitro conditions. SA inhibited mycelial growth and conidial germination of all pathogens in potato dextrose agar medium in a concentration-dependent manner, with the greatest inhibition achieved using the highest SA concentrations. The antifungal activity of SA on mycelial growth was found to be pH-dependent and more efficient in acidic conditions than in alkaline conditions. However, the inhibitory effect of SA on conidia germination is not due to acidification of the medium. Microscopic observations reveal that mycelium from inhibition zones showed a morphological alteration compared to normal mycelium from the untreated control. Our results demonstrate for the first time that, although the inhibitory effect of SA required acidic growth conditions to be observed, SA has a significant and direct impact on F. culmorum, F. solani, F. verticillioides and F. equiseti through a reduction in efficiency of germination and growth at higher concentrations. This study has shown that SA could be considered a potent and promising antifungal to FHB infection that is safe for the environment.




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