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Crop decline caused by soil borne fungal pathogens affects specialized cropping systems such as fruit trees and strawberry. A study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of pre-plant application of waste-derived biomasses in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) to reduce that phenomenon. A field experiment was carried out in an alpine strawberry specialized valley in South Tyrol (Italy), in a long term cultivated field selected for yield reduction over recent years. In July 2018, one month before strawberry transplanting, a field experiment with four soil treatments was set up: anaerobic digestate (solid fraction) of liquid manure, compost from anaerobic digestate of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), untreated control and Dazomet as chemical control. Plants were grown for two cycles (2019 and 2020). Dazomet always gave a significant (over 50%) increase in marketable yield per plant in both the years, anaerobic digestates did not improve strawberry production; compost from OFMSW gave phytotoxic effects in the first year, but improved strawberry yield like Dazomet in the second. Changes of rhizosphere bacterial populations and difference in root pathogen abundance, especially that of Dactylonectria torresensis, were correlated to the crop response to treatments. Findings suggest that waste-derived biomasses are a promising eco-friendly option for counteracting strawberry yield decline. Their positive impact was mostly linked to functional improvements induced by microbial variations. However, the use of such organic amendment requires careful evaluation of composition, doses and above all application times to reduce phytotoxic effects that in some cases can occur in the first months after application.
Sebastian Soppelsa; Luisa Manici; Francesco Caputo; Massimo Zago; Markus Kelderer. Locally Available Organic Waste for Counteracting Strawberry Decline in a Mountain Specialized Cropping Area. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3964 .
AMA StyleSebastian Soppelsa, Luisa Manici, Francesco Caputo, Massimo Zago, Markus Kelderer. Locally Available Organic Waste for Counteracting Strawberry Decline in a Mountain Specialized Cropping Area. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (7):3964.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSebastian Soppelsa; Luisa Manici; Francesco Caputo; Massimo Zago; Markus Kelderer. 2021. "Locally Available Organic Waste for Counteracting Strawberry Decline in a Mountain Specialized Cropping Area." Sustainability 13, no. 7: 3964.
Soil suppressiveness which is the natural ability of soil to support optimal plant growth and health is the resultant of multiple soil microbial components; which implies many difficulties when estimating this soil condition. Microbial benefits for plant health from repeated digestate applications were assessed in three experimental sites surrounding anaerobic biogas plants in an intensively cultivated area of northern Italy. A 2-yr trial was performed in 2017 and 2018 by performing an in-pot plant growth assay, using soil samples taken from two fields for each experimental site, of which one had been repeatedly amended with anaerobic biogas digestate and the other had not. These fields were similar in management and crop sequences (maize was the recurrent crop) for the last 10 yr. Plant growth response in the bioassay was expressed as plant biomass production, root colonization frequency by soil-borne fungi were estimated to evaluate the impact of soil-borne pathogens on plant growth, abundance of Pseudomonas and actinomycetes populations in rhizosphere were estimated as beneficial soil microbial indicators. Repeated soil amendment with digestate increased significantly soil capacity to support plant biomass production as compared to unamended control in both the years. Findings supported evidence that this increase was principally attributable to a higher natural ability of digestate-amended soils to reduce root infection by saprophytic soil-borne pathogens whose inoculum was increased by the recurrent maize cultivation. Pseudomonas and actinomycetes were always more abundant in digestate-amended soils suggesting that both these large bacterial groups were involved in the increase of their natural capacity to control soil-borne pathogens (soil suppressiveness).
L. M. Manici; F. Caputo; G. A. Cappelli; E. Ceotto. Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands? Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 2020, 1 -12.
AMA StyleL. M. Manici, F. Caputo, G. A. Cappelli, E. Ceotto. Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands? Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 2020; ():1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL. M. Manici; F. Caputo; G. A. Cappelli; E. Ceotto. 2020. "Can repeated soil amendment with biogas digestates increase soil suppressiveness toward non-specific soil-borne pathogens in agricultural lands?" Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , no. : 1-12.
Dactylonectria torresensis, together with Fusarium spp. is one of the most frequently soil-borne fungal pathogens associated to “replant disease”, a phenomenon of multicausal origin that manifests as growth reduction, dead on newly planted trees and crop decline in adult orchards. Due to difficulties to reproduce with pathogenicity tests the impact on root development of the major soil borne fungi associated to “replant disease” and recent evidences on mediation of Fusarium phytotoxins on root development at rhizosphere level, a bioassay was carried out to evaluate the impact of extracellular compounds of D. torresensis on fruit tree growth. The response of in vitro shoots of grapevine, apple and peach rootstocks (K5BB, M.26 and, GF677 respectively) to extracellular exudates of D. torresensis was evaluated. Toxicity of crude sterile culture filtrates of two D. torresensis isolates from apple roots were tested at 3 concentrations in a common medium (MS medium) for in vitro plant propagation. Low molecular weight (MW) secondary metabolites (50–1000 g mol−1 MW) were also identified using liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In vitro plants of all tested plant genotypes showed significant root inhibition and shoot reduction from lowest dose in filtrate amended MS medium as compared unamended control, suggesting phytotoxicity of extracellular exudates of D. torresensis. Chlorosis and abnormal leaf growth observed in above ground part of in vitro plants grown in filtrate-amended-media suggested interferences on plant functionalities rather than a simple growth inhibition due to severe root reduction. Those findings were consistent with the mode of action of three phytotoxins found in fungal filtrates from both fungal isolates, they were: tentoxin, HC toxin and zearalenone. These phytotoxins are non host-specific or low host-specific and act at cell and plant functional level without causing specific symptoms such as tissue necrosis. Biological properties of these phytotoxins along with the other compounds detected in culture filtrates, among which antibiotic and antifungal compounds such as nidulin, rabelomycin and biochanin A, should help to elucidate the complex patho-system D. torresensis - fruit tree.
L.M. Manici; E. Caboni; F. Caputo; A. Frattarelli; S. Lucioli. Phytotoxins from Dactylonectria torresensis involved in replant disease of fruit trees. Rhizosphere 2020, 17, 100300 .
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, E. Caboni, F. Caputo, A. Frattarelli, S. Lucioli. Phytotoxins from Dactylonectria torresensis involved in replant disease of fruit trees. Rhizosphere. 2020; 17 ():100300.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; E. Caboni; F. Caputo; A. Frattarelli; S. Lucioli. 2020. "Phytotoxins from Dactylonectria torresensis involved in replant disease of fruit trees." Rhizosphere 17, no. : 100300.
Secondary metabolites of bacteria associated with honey bees were evaluated as part of an investigation on their potentiality for apiary health. Low molecular weight compounds released into culture filtrates by the four bacterial isolates taken from surface of healthy honey bees were analyzed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Only one low molecular weight compound was found in the culture filtrate of each isolate. Bacillus thuringiensis, Bifidobacterium asteroides and Acetobacteraceae bacterium, released into culture filtrates platynecine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid of plant origin, which, until now, had never been reported as produced by bacteria. Lactobacillus kunkeei produced a 3,5-dinitropyridine, of unknown biological action never associated so far to bacteria. The highest relative concentration of platynecine was detected in B. thuringiensis (100%), B. asteroides and A. bacterium showed a concentration above 50% and below 25% that concentration. An in vitro assay on the potential for controlling the parasitic mite Varroa destructor by the culture filtrates of the three platynecine-producing bacteria was performed. Varroa mite mortality was proportional to the platynecine relative concentration into culture filtrate. Although miticidal activity of B. thuringiensis might be associated to other toxic proteins produced by this species, B. asteroides toxicity toward V. destructor along with the other findings of this study support the hypothesis that platynecine plays a direct or an indirect role in controlling varroa. Findings of this study suggest that secondary metabolites released by honey bee-associated bacteria represent a source of natural compounds to be considered in the challenge for counteracting the colony decline.
L. M. Manici; M. L. Saccà; M. Lodesani. Secondary Metabolites Produced by Honey Bee-Associated Bacteria for Apiary Health: Potential Activity of Platynecine. Current Microbiology 2020, 77, 3441 -3449.
AMA StyleL. M. Manici, M. L. Saccà, M. Lodesani. Secondary Metabolites Produced by Honey Bee-Associated Bacteria for Apiary Health: Potential Activity of Platynecine. Current Microbiology. 2020; 77 (11):3441-3449.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL. M. Manici; M. L. Saccà; M. Lodesani. 2020. "Secondary Metabolites Produced by Honey Bee-Associated Bacteria for Apiary Health: Potential Activity of Platynecine." Current Microbiology 77, no. 11: 3441-3449.
Saving water resources in agriculture is a topic of current research in Mediterranean environments, and rational soil management can allow such purposes. The Beerkan Estimation of Soil Transfer parameters (BEST) procedure was applied in five olive orchards of Salento peninsula (southern Italy) to estimate the soil physical and hydraulic properties under alternative soil management (i.e., no-tillage (NT) and minimum tillage (MT)), and to quantify the impact of soil management on soil water conservation. Results highlighted the soundness of BEST predictions since they provided consistent results in terms of soil functions or capacitive-based soil indicators when (i) the entire data set was grouped by homogeneous classes of texture, bulk density, and capillarity of the soil, (ii) the predictions were compared with the corresponding water retention measures independently obtained in lab, and (iii) some correlations of literature were checked. BEST was applied to establish a comparison at Neviano (NE) and Sternatia (ST) sites. The two neighboring NT soils compared at NE showed substantial discrepancies in soil texture (i.e., sandy loam (NE-SL) or clay (NE-C)). This marked difference in soil texture could determine a worsening of the relative field capacity at the NE-SL site (relative field capacity, RFC < 0.6), as compared to NE-C where RFC was optimal. The current soil management determined a similar effect (RFC < 0.6) at Sternatia (ST-MT vs. ST-NT), but the worsening in soil properties, due to soil tillage, must be considered substantially transient, as progressive improvement is expected with the restoration of the soil structure. The results of this work suggest that strategic MT can be a viable solution to manage the soil of Salento olive orchards.
Mirko Castellini; Anna Maria Stellacci; Marcello Mastrangelo; Francesco Caputo; Luisa Maria Manici. Estimating the Soil Hydraulic Functions of Some Olive Orchards: Soil Management Implications for Water Saving in Soils of Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). Agronomy 2020, 10, 177 .
AMA StyleMirko Castellini, Anna Maria Stellacci, Marcello Mastrangelo, Francesco Caputo, Luisa Maria Manici. Estimating the Soil Hydraulic Functions of Some Olive Orchards: Soil Management Implications for Water Saving in Soils of Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy). Agronomy. 2020; 10 (2):177.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMirko Castellini; Anna Maria Stellacci; Marcello Mastrangelo; Francesco Caputo; Luisa Maria Manici. 2020. "Estimating the Soil Hydraulic Functions of Some Olive Orchards: Soil Management Implications for Water Saving in Soils of Salento Peninsula (Southern Italy)." Agronomy 10, no. 2: 177.
The functional relationship between binucleate Rhizoctonia sp. (BnRhizoctonia) and apple was investigated. Apple rootstock plantlets (Malling 9) were grown in BnRhizoctonia inoculated and non-inoculated soil after preliminary treatment with gamma-rays. A growth assay was performed in phytotron under two soil-water content regimes: an optimal one for plant growth and another inducing periodic plant water stress. At the end of the growth test, plant growth as fresh and dry weight of biomass produced over the trial period and fungal root colonization with culture-based methodology were estimated. Relative quantification of Rhizoctonia and soil fungi DNA using specific primers was performed. Overall, BnRhizoctonia inoculation gave a mean plant growth increase which accounted for 50% as compared to non-inoculated treatments. Although root colonization frequency did not differ between inoculated and uninoculated plants, the inoculated were highly colonised by BnRhizoctonia, whilst the others were colonized by a series of ascomycetes such as Fusarium spp., Alternaria sp. which quickly recolonized soil after preliminary soil treatment with gamma-rays acting soil microbial restoration. Water stress overall reduced plant growth; however, inoculation with BnRhizoctonia reduced this negative effect by about 30%. Findings of this study indicate that BnRhizoctonia acts as growth promoter; but this beneficial effect depends on its degree of root colonization and is affected by environmental interaction.
L.M. Manici; F. Caputo. Growth promotion of apple plants is the net effect of binucleate Rhizoctonia sp. as rhizosphere-colonizing fungus. Rhizosphere 2020, 13, 100185 .
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, F. Caputo. Growth promotion of apple plants is the net effect of binucleate Rhizoctonia sp. as rhizosphere-colonizing fungus. Rhizosphere. 2020; 13 ():100185.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; F. Caputo. 2020. "Growth promotion of apple plants is the net effect of binucleate Rhizoctonia sp. as rhizosphere-colonizing fungus." Rhizosphere 13, no. : 100185.
A study on the relationships between fungi and physical indicators of the soil applying a multivariate approach was performed in an olive growing area affected by a recent outbreak in the Apulia region, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The study was made with a view to improving the decisional tools for selecting disease-decimated groves to be replaced with new olive trees. Relative quantities of rDNA-PCR amplicons targeting soil fungi, ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, and a series of soil physical indicators, which accounted for a proportion of water and air in the soil including total organic carbon or structure stability index, were assessed in twelve olive orchards at six sites across the Xylella infected area in the Salento region. Multiple correlation and canonical correspondence analysis led to identification of a series of soil physical and fungal indicators which were linearly correlated. Further discriminant analysis showed the selected set of variables was able to effectively discriminate sites and classes of plant available water capacity, whilst it discriminated poorly for soil texture. Even though soil fungi showed a relatively low weight compared to soil physical indicators based on the classification function from discriminant analysis, they showed a discriminant ability close to that of soil physical indicators. Therefore, as far as agro-environments on the verge of desertification are concerned, such as those in this study, soil fungi can be effectively associated to soil physical indicators for multivariate analysis of physical soil properties.
L.M. Manici; M. Castellini; F. Caputo. Soil-inhabiting fungi can integrate soil physical indicators in multivariate analysis of Mediterranean agroecosystem dominated by old olive groves. Ecological Indicators 2019, 106, 105490 .
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, M. Castellini, F. Caputo. Soil-inhabiting fungi can integrate soil physical indicators in multivariate analysis of Mediterranean agroecosystem dominated by old olive groves. Ecological Indicators. 2019; 106 ():105490.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; M. Castellini; F. Caputo. 2019. "Soil-inhabiting fungi can integrate soil physical indicators in multivariate analysis of Mediterranean agroecosystem dominated by old olive groves." Ecological Indicators 106, no. : 105490.
During the past two decades, esca disease has emerged as one of the most important diseases of grapevines. Esca is caused by complex of fungal pathogens, one of the main being Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (Pch). Since propagation material is considered one of the main infection sources of this fungus, most studies on Pch detection have focused on plant tissues and nursery soils. Conversely, due to methodological limitations encountered in retrieving this slow‐growing fungus, little is known about its true occurrence in vineyard soils. This study presents the adaptation of a molecular‐based methodology for the detection and quantification of Pch in soil samples. For this purpose, soil from the root‐explored area of esca‐foliar symptomatic and asymptomatic plants was sampled in 17 adult vineyards in two different climatic regions. Qualitative and quantitative nested PCR assays indicated the presence of Pch DNA in soil, differentiating between vineyards and regions, regardless of esca symptoms. The number of positive samples (32%) detected in the vineyards indicates that Pch can be recovered in natural soils, thus opening perspectives for the use of molecular tools in the study of the ecology and epidemiology of this fungus in soil.
Maria Ludovica Saccà; Luisa Maria Manici; Francesco Caputo; Salvatore Frisullo. Qualitative and quantitative molecular analysis indicate the presence ofPhaeomoniella chlamydosporain vineyard soils. Journal of Phytopathology 2018, 166, 821 -831.
AMA StyleMaria Ludovica Saccà, Luisa Maria Manici, Francesco Caputo, Salvatore Frisullo. Qualitative and quantitative molecular analysis indicate the presence ofPhaeomoniella chlamydosporain vineyard soils. Journal of Phytopathology. 2018; 166 (11-12):821-831.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaria Ludovica Saccà; Luisa Maria Manici; Francesco Caputo; Salvatore Frisullo. 2018. "Qualitative and quantitative molecular analysis indicate the presence ofPhaeomoniella chlamydosporain vineyard soils." Journal of Phytopathology 166, no. 11-12: 821-831.
A study aiming at investigating biological control agents for protecting strawberry during the post-transplant period was performed. For this purpose, a series of fertile soils, rich in organic matter, which had been subjected to intensive strawberry cultivation, were selected. Soil samples taken from those soils were subjected to thermal treatment (up to 80 °C) for a short time to induce microbial changes aiming at improving soil suppressiveness. A greenhouse growth assay with treated and original soils was carried out in pot using frigo-plants. Plants were grown for two months, up to the end of the first production cycle; productive parameters were measured during this period, whilst plant vigour was estimated at the end of the trial as dry matter of the above ground part of the plants. At the end of the trial, root colonizing fungi were evaluated with culture base methods, whilst rhizosphere fungi and bacteria were quantified in terms of DNA amplicons using specific primers. Soil thermal treatments gave an overall increase of both vegetative and productive parameters of strawberry plants, even though the highest plant growth improvements were observed in soil samples originating from the fields showing most severe yield decline amongst the four contemplated in this study. Such an increase in soil health, besides the expected reduction of root infection by the fungal pathogens responsible for root rot in strawberry (mainly Pythium spp. and Dactylonectria torresensis), was related to qualitative and quantitative microbial changes in root and rhizosphere. Root-colonising fungal communities shifted towards Aspergillus, Penicillium along with a series of other non-pathogenic fungal saprophytes. A dramatic reduction of total soil fungi was observed in rhizosphere, whilst total bacteria increased in heat treated soil. Notably, actinomycetes and, to a lesser extent, Pseudomonas were associated with plant growth improvement, while Bacillus did not. Findings suggest that microbiome disturbance of agricultural soils that are rich in organic matter and maintain a good diversity degree, can be effective when searching for beneficial microbial populations with a higher specialisation towards the main crop, as well as for investigating on new biocontrol strategies to reduce post-transplant issues in strawberry crops.
L.M. Manici; F. Caputo; A. Rossi; A.R. Topp; M. Zago; M. Kelderer. Thermal disturbance of fertile soils to search for new biological control options in strawberry crops affected by yield decline. Biological Control 2018, 126, 65 -73.
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, F. Caputo, A. Rossi, A.R. Topp, M. Zago, M. Kelderer. Thermal disturbance of fertile soils to search for new biological control options in strawberry crops affected by yield decline. Biological Control. 2018; 126 ():65-73.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; F. Caputo; A. Rossi; A.R. Topp; M. Zago; M. Kelderer. 2018. "Thermal disturbance of fertile soils to search for new biological control options in strawberry crops affected by yield decline." Biological Control 126, no. : 65-73.
A study on locally available composts in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland was conducted to investigate the potential of these non-chemical based tools to increase soil health in orchards afflicted by apple replant disease (ARD). A total of 26 different composts (six to seven per country) were chosen for the study. Composts were divided into ten types according to the waste materials used as substrates in the composting process. Growth reduction is the main symptom associated with replant disease; therefore compost performance was evaluated based on the growth responses of apple rootstock plantlets in compost-amended soils in pots. These greenhouse trials were performed in one research station per country, located in an intensive apple-growing area, and soil was taken from an apple orchard affected by replanting disease. Plant growth response was measured as shoot elongation at the end of each greenhouse trial, and results showed increases in growth compared with the respective controls of 2–26% in 20 out of 26 composts evaluated. The heterogeneous nature of the composts most likely attributed to the finding that similar compost types originating from the different countries had varying effects on plant growth. Overall, no significant changes in chemical and biological properties were observed in amended soils as compared with non-amended controls. The high soil resilience was in part expected given the good organic matter content in the original soils (>2%). The bacterial communities of the composts were investigated using the COMPOCHIP microarray, and analyses showed that differences in plant growth response were mainly attributed to the microbial changes introduced into the soil through composts rather than to changes in soil chemical and biological parameters. However, the bacterial communities of composts appeared to be more influenced by geographical origin than by compost type. The results have shown that soil amendment with composts generated from locally produced wastes have the potential to reduce the effects of ARD, although the effects appear to be both compost and soil specific.
Ingrid H. Franke-Whittle; Marina Fernández-Delgado Juárez; Heribert Insam; Simon Schweizer; Andreas Naef; Anne-Rosemarie Topp; Markus Kelderer; Thomas Rühmer; Gerhard Baab; Joana Henfrey; Luisa M. Manici. Performance evaluation of locally available composts to reduce replant disease in apple orchards of central Europe. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 2018, 34, 543 -557.
AMA StyleIngrid H. Franke-Whittle, Marina Fernández-Delgado Juárez, Heribert Insam, Simon Schweizer, Andreas Naef, Anne-Rosemarie Topp, Markus Kelderer, Thomas Rühmer, Gerhard Baab, Joana Henfrey, Luisa M. Manici. Performance evaluation of locally available composts to reduce replant disease in apple orchards of central Europe. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 2018; 34 (6):543-557.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIngrid H. Franke-Whittle; Marina Fernández-Delgado Juárez; Heribert Insam; Simon Schweizer; Andreas Naef; Anne-Rosemarie Topp; Markus Kelderer; Thomas Rühmer; Gerhard Baab; Joana Henfrey; Luisa M. Manici. 2018. "Performance evaluation of locally available composts to reduce replant disease in apple orchards of central Europe." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 34, no. 6: 543-557.
This study started from typical replant disease symptoms limited to specific foci within three multi-generation orchards showing homogeneous growth. A plant growth assay was conducted using soil from symptomatic and asymptomatic tree root zones along planted rows and from strip-rows. Root colonizing fungal communities were investigated, then the study turned to pathogenicity of Cylindrocarpon-like fungi (Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria spp) and their extracellular exudates. Growth of apple rootstock plantlets in soil from symptomatic trees was significantly lower than in those observed in soil from asymptomatic trees and from strip-rows. Among the main group of endophytic filamentous fungi isolated from roots, Cylindrocapon-like fungi (Dactylonectria torresensis and, to a lesser extent, Ilyonectria robusta), along with binucleate Rhizoctonia spp., prevailed mostly in plantlets grown in soil collected from planted rows. On the other hand, Fusarium spp. prevailed in plantlets grown in soil from the strip-rows. Cylindrocarpon-like fungi was found to be the most negatively correlated with plant growth. As findings of artificial inoculation with main root colonizing fungal species were not in line with what was observed in native soils, a further investigation was performed on secondary metabolites through which Dactylonectria torresensis exerts pathogenicity; this analysis revealed that both phytotoxins (tentoxin, HC toxin and zearalenone) and cytotoxic compounds (rabelomycin and nidulin) may be involved. Findings suggest that extracellular compounds released by D. torresensis may have contributed to the severe growth reduction associated with replant disease-like symptoms.
Luisa M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; M. L. Saccà; F. Nicoletti; A. R. Topp; M. Mazzola. Involvement of Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria spp. in tree decline affecting multi-generation apple orchards. Plant and Soil 2018, 425, 217 -230.
AMA StyleLuisa M. Manici, M. Kelderer, F. Caputo, M. L. Saccà, F. Nicoletti, A. R. Topp, M. Mazzola. Involvement of Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria spp. in tree decline affecting multi-generation apple orchards. Plant and Soil. 2018; 425 (1-2):217-230.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuisa M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; M. L. Saccà; F. Nicoletti; A. R. Topp; M. Mazzola. 2018. "Involvement of Dactylonectria and Ilyonectria spp. in tree decline affecting multi-generation apple orchards." Plant and Soil 425, no. 1-2: 217-230.
L.M. Manici; M.L. Saccà; F. Caputo; A. Zanzotto; M. Gardiman; G. Fila. Long- term grapevine cultivation and agro-environment affect rhizosphere microbiome rather than plant age. Applied Soil Ecology 2017, 119, 214 -225.
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, M.L. Saccà, F. Caputo, A. Zanzotto, M. Gardiman, G. Fila. Long- term grapevine cultivation and agro-environment affect rhizosphere microbiome rather than plant age. Applied Soil Ecology. 2017; 119 ():214-225.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; M.L. Saccà; F. Caputo; A. Zanzotto; M. Gardiman; G. Fila. 2017. "Long- term grapevine cultivation and agro-environment affect rhizosphere microbiome rather than plant age." Applied Soil Ecology 119, no. : 214-225.
A study was performed to investigate the role of fungal metabolites released into the rhizosphere of replanted orchards as a potential biotic component of tree growth decline. The phytotoxicity of the gamma ray-sterilized crude culture filtrates of sixteen fungal species originating from replanted apple orchards was tested in a bioassay. Low molecular weight compounds released by Fusarium spp. were analyzed. The fungal culture filtrates affected seedling growth and health with an activity that varied from growth inhibition to promotion. Three out of the six species of Fusarium tested produced species-specific mycotoxins such as equisetin and enniatin B and D (<1 μg ml−1 and <6 μg ml−1, respectively) associated with root-tip necrosis, whereas fusaric acid (80–230 μg ml−1) was associated with asymptomatic plant growth inhibition. These findings were consistent with those obtained using pure compounds. Moreover, methoxyconidiol, paecilaminol, integrastatin B and other biologically active compounds, whose fungal origin and phytotoxicity have not yet been reported, were found. in all fungal filtrates. Findings suggest that i) phytopathogenicity of soil borne fungi can be expressed regardless of root infection; ii) a synergistic interaction between co-occurring mycotoxins and other biologically active compounds may explain plant growth inhibition. Iii) fungal metabolites released into soil may represent an underestimated component of nonspecific replant disease.
L. M. Manici; F. Caputo; Maria Ludovica Saccà. Secondary metabolites released into the rhizosphere by Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium spp. as underestimated component of nonspecific replant disease. Plant and Soil 2016, 415, 85 -98.
AMA StyleL. M. Manici, F. Caputo, Maria Ludovica Saccà. Secondary metabolites released into the rhizosphere by Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium spp. as underestimated component of nonspecific replant disease. Plant and Soil. 2016; 415 (1-2):85-98.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL. M. Manici; F. Caputo; Maria Ludovica Saccà. 2016. "Secondary metabolites released into the rhizosphere by Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium spp. as underestimated component of nonspecific replant disease." Plant and Soil 415, no. 1-2: 85-98.
Crop decline is a progressive soil health reduction commonly associated to the specialized cultivations. As a series of biotic factors are involved in this phenomenon, it can be controlled with essentially agronomic methods, the impact of winter cover crops on early growth at subsequent vegetable crops was investigated in a two-year field study. Barley and hairy vetch were incorporated into the soil following two mechanical terminations of cover crops (green manure and green mulching). Immediately after, tomato and zucchini seedlings were transplanted and grown for 28 days. The above-ground biomass of the vegetables was taken as indicator of crop response to pre-plant treatments, whilst root colonizing fungi and rhizosphere bacteria were the two analyzed soil microbial components. Root-colonizing fungi were evaluated using culture-based methods, bacteria were analyzed by amplification of rhizosphere soil DNA with 16S rDNA, then processed with PCR-DGGE. Tomato and zucchini growth response after vetch was always significantly higher than after barley regardless of mechanical termination. Rhizosphere bacterial communities differed significantly between cover crops and this differences was maintained also in the subsequent vegetable crops. Root-colonizing fungi differed between barley and vetch, although they shared most species (70%) such as Pythium spp., binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-A and several Fusarium spp. The latter three fungal groups were also found most abundant in tomato and zucchini roots. Pathogenicity test showed that tomato was more susceptible than zucchini to Pythium, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium spp. and that their relationship with vegetable plants varied from pathogenic to neutral, up to mutualistic in the case of Rhizoctonia AG-A. These findings indicate difficulty to identify specific biotic agents responsible of crop decline. Tomato and zucchini showed an undoubted growth improvement after legume; however, a certain specificity of Cylindrocarpon-like fungi and Phoma spp. to hairy vetch suggests that, when exploiting benefit of this cover crop for mitigating yield decline of vegetable crops, legume should alternate cereal and other botanically distant genera in rotation.
L.M. Manici; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; Fabrizio Leteo; G. Campanelli. The impact of legume and cereal cover crops on rhizosphere microbial communities of subsequent vegetable crops for contrasting crop decline. Biological Control 2016, 120, 17 -25.
AMA StyleL.M. Manici, F. Caputo, F. Nicoletti, Fabrizio Leteo, G. Campanelli. The impact of legume and cereal cover crops on rhizosphere microbial communities of subsequent vegetable crops for contrasting crop decline. Biological Control. 2016; 120 ():17-25.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL.M. Manici; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; Fabrizio Leteo; G. Campanelli. 2016. "The impact of legume and cereal cover crops on rhizosphere microbial communities of subsequent vegetable crops for contrasting crop decline." Biological Control 120, no. : 17-25.
This study aimed at investigating the degree of interference of high soil copper (Cu) contamination when an old vineyard is converted into a protected area. This study was performed within an intensive agricultural system; it was organized into a two-factorial nested design to analyze the impact of management (conventional vs re-naturalized orchard) and position within each orchard (tree-rows and strips). Chemical and biochemical properties along with bacterial and fungal communities, evaluated with PCR-DGGE starting from total soil DNA, were analyzed. Total Cu was localized in tree rows in the old vineyard at 1000 mg kg−1 of soil, whereas it did not exceed 80 mg kg−1 soil in the other treatments. Total organic carbon and all biochemical properties significantly improved in re-naturalized compared to conventionally cultivated site, while no significant differences were observed between tree row and strip. Moreover, a higher extractable carbon-extractable nitrogen (Cext-to-Next) ratio in the re-naturalized (19.3) site than in the conventionally managed site (10.2) indicated a shift of soil system from C-limited to N-limited, confirming a successful ecological restoration. Deep improvement of soil biochemical properties exceeded the negative impact of Cu contamination. A shift of bacterial community composition as well as increased bacterial diversity in Cu contaminated treatment indicated a bacterial response to Cu stress; to the contrary, soil fungi were less susceptible than bacteria, though an overall reduction of fungal DNA was detected. Findings suggest that ecological restoration of highly polluted agricultural soils leads to overcoming the reduction of soil functionalities linked to Cu contamination and opens interesting perspectives for mitigating Cu stress in agricultural soils with strategies based on conservative agriculture.
Luciano Cavani; Luisa M. Manici; Francesco Caputo; Elisabetta Peruzzi; Claudio Ciavatta. Ecological restoration of a copper polluted vineyard: Long-term impact of farmland abandonment on soil bio-chemical properties and microbial communities. Journal of Environmental Management 2016, 182, 37 -47.
AMA StyleLuciano Cavani, Luisa M. Manici, Francesco Caputo, Elisabetta Peruzzi, Claudio Ciavatta. Ecological restoration of a copper polluted vineyard: Long-term impact of farmland abandonment on soil bio-chemical properties and microbial communities. Journal of Environmental Management. 2016; 182 ():37-47.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuciano Cavani; Luisa M. Manici; Francesco Caputo; Elisabetta Peruzzi; Claudio Ciavatta. 2016. "Ecological restoration of a copper polluted vineyard: Long-term impact of farmland abandonment on soil bio-chemical properties and microbial communities." Journal of Environmental Management 182, no. : 37-47.
SUMMARYA study was performed in controlled conditions to reproduce cold and warm spring regimes in the east Po valley, northern Italy with a temperate subcontinental climate, to evaluate whether and to what extent spring weather regimes favour the attack of Rhizoctonia solani or Colletotrichum coccodes on potato, in view of predicted climate change. The main experiment, preceded by a controlled chamber set of tests to quantify response to temperatures of R. solani anastomosis group (AG)-3 and C. coccodes strains, showed that limit temperatures (minimum, maximum and optimum of colony radial growth) of R. solani AG-3 are 6 °C lower than those of C. coccodes. Then, a trial to reproduce early growth stages of potato was performed in phytotrons with sprouts of cvar Hermes to simulate cold and warm spring regimes with two different relative soil moisture contents. That simulation was carried out on native non-sterilized soil samples which were co-inoculated artificially with R. solani AG-3 and C. coccodes. Species-abundance findings of fungal root colonization in potato roots and molecular quantification (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) of C. coccodes and R. solani AG-3 inoculum growth in soil showed that: (i) C. coccodes is more competitive than R. solani AG-3 in colonizing potato root both in warm and cold spring regimes; (ii) R. solani AG-3 infected potato roots only in the coldest spring regimes regardless of soil moisture content; (iii) soil temperature is the greatest factor that influences root colonization of C. coccodes and R. solani as well as that of soil inhabiting fungi including some potential antagonists; (iv) R. solani AG-3 and C. coccodes seem to greatly increase in soil under the relative driest and warmest spring weather regimes expected according to the mean scenarios of climate changing in northern Italy; (v) binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-A, a common non-pathogenic fungus indigenous to agricultural soil of that area, appears to be antagonistic towards root fungal pathogens of potato.
Luisa M. Manici; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti. Potato root infection by Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group-3 and Colletotrichum coccodes under current and future spring weather in northern Italy. The Journal of Agricultural Science 2016, 154, 1413 -1424.
AMA StyleLuisa M. Manici, F. Caputo, F. Nicoletti. Potato root infection by Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group-3 and Colletotrichum coccodes under current and future spring weather in northern Italy. The Journal of Agricultural Science. 2016; 154 (8):1413-1424.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuisa M. Manici; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti. 2016. "Potato root infection by Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group-3 and Colletotrichum coccodes under current and future spring weather in northern Italy." The Journal of Agricultural Science 154, no. 8: 1413-1424.
Manici, L. M., Kelderer, M., Caputo, F., Nicoletti, F., De Luca Picione, F. and Topp A. R. 2015. Impact of cover crop in pre-plant of apple orchards: relationship between crop health, root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 947–958. Replant disease of fruit tree orchards has a multifactorial etiology, mainly due to the decline in soil biodiversity along with an increase in root rot pathogens, which can be principally countered with appropriate cropping practices. Therefore, a study on the impact of cover crops on plant health of young fruit trees in long-term orchards was performed. Bioassays were performed over two consecutive growing cycles using soil from a multigeneration apple orchard affected by replant disease. First, a cycle was performed with three cover crops (alfalfa, barley, marigold) and apple rootstock plantlets; at the end, the above-ground part of the plant was removed and root residues left in the soil. In the second cycle, an apple orchard planting was simulated upon the first experimental design. Changes of diversity and composition of root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria were evaluated as well as apple plant growth response to the pre-plant treatments. Results suggest that one cycle with alternate plants was sufficient to induce changes at the rhizosphere level, despite soil microbial resilience caused by the same long-term soil management. Rhizospheric bacteria were generally affected by plant genotype. Findings suggest that all three different cover crops can harbor almost all fungal species that colonize apple in replanted orchards (Fusarium spp., Pythum spp., binucleate Rhizoctonia sp., Cylindrocarpon-like-fungi and a several nonpathogenic saprophytic fungi named “other”), but their infection frequency varied according to the host plant. A single pre-plant break treatment did not overall differ significantly in plant growth of subsequent apple tree; however, break with marigold, which increased abundance of nonpathogenic root inhabiting fungi more than other cover crops, gave significantly higher plant growth than obtained after barley. This study provides evidence about cover-crop potential to increase soil diversity in long-term permanent cropping systems and to manipulate root colonizing fungi involved in crop health.
Luisa M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; F. De Luca Picione; A. R. Topp. Impact of cover crop in pre-plant of apple orchards: relationship between crop health, root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 2015, 95, 947 -958.
AMA StyleLuisa M. Manici, M. Kelderer, F. Caputo, F. Nicoletti, F. De Luca Picione, A. R. Topp. Impact of cover crop in pre-plant of apple orchards: relationship between crop health, root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 2015; 95 (5):947-958.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuisa M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; F. De Luca Picione; A. R. Topp. 2015. "Impact of cover crop in pre-plant of apple orchards: relationship between crop health, root inhabiting fungi and rhizospheric bacteria." Canadian Journal of Plant Science 95, no. 5: 947-958.
High-throughput 454 pyrosequencing was applied to investigate differences in bacterial and fungal communities between replant and closely situated control non-replant (fallow) soils. The V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and the ITS1 region of fungi from the different soils were sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing (Titanium chemistry), and data were analysed using the MOTHUR pipeline. The bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria dominated in both fallow and replant apple orchard soils, and community composition at both phylum and genus level did not significantly differ according to NP-MANOVA. The fungal phyla Ascomycota, Zygomycota and Basidiomycota were dominant, and communities also did not differ in composition at either phylum or genus level. High positive Pearson correlations with plant growth in a plant growth assay performed with apple rootstocks plantlets were detected for the bacterial genera Gp16 and Solirubrobacter (r: >0.82) and fungal genera Scutellinia, Penicillium, Lecythophora and Paecilomyces (r: >0.65). Strong negative correlations with plant growth were detected for the bacterial genera Chitinophaga and Hyphomicrobium (r: <−0.78) and the fungal genera Acremonium, Fusarium and Cylindrocarpon (r: <−0.81). Study findings are in part consistent with those of previous research, but also highlight associations between apple plants and certain microbial genera. The functional role of these genera in affecting soil health and fertility should be further investigated.
Ingrid H. Franke-Whittle; Luisa M. Manici; Heribert Insam; Blaz Stres. Rhizosphere bacteria and fungi associated with plant growth in soils of three replanted apple orchards. Plant and Soil 2015, 395, 317 -333.
AMA StyleIngrid H. Franke-Whittle, Luisa M. Manici, Heribert Insam, Blaz Stres. Rhizosphere bacteria and fungi associated with plant growth in soils of three replanted apple orchards. Plant and Soil. 2015; 395 (1-2):317-333.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIngrid H. Franke-Whittle; Luisa M. Manici; Heribert Insam; Blaz Stres. 2015. "Rhizosphere bacteria and fungi associated with plant growth in soils of three replanted apple orchards." Plant and Soil 395, no. 1-2: 317-333.
The study focused on changes of rhizosphere microbial communities in apple trees in long-term replanted orchards of Central Europe, aiming at developing cropping practices to mitigate replant problems. It started from the evidence of a previous study which showed that a slight modification of root-colonizing fungal communities was responsible for a great increase of plant growth in soil samples which had previously been subjected to a gamma-irradiation cycle (25 kGy for 8 h), as compared to that observed in the corresponding untreated native soils. The study was performed on rhizospheric soil from nine multi-generation apple orchards after a plant growth assay with M9 rootstock plantlets. PCR-DGGE analysis of soil DNA was performed to evaluate fungal and bacterial communities in fallow and replanted soils, as well as corresponding gamma-irradiated samples. Findings showed that rhizospheric fungal and bacterial communities within apple orchards did not differ according to their position within the orchard; while, they showed a shift in the gamma-irradiated soils. Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas tolasii, Pseudomonas spp. and Novosphingobium spp. were the bacteria which were mainly attributed to this change. A shifting in composition of Fusarium communities toward Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium equiseti resulted the most linked to the changes at rhizosphere level after re-colonization; to the contrary, Fusarium venenatum and Fusarium avenaceum, Truncatella sp. and Gibellolopsis sp., only occurred in native soils. Findings of this study suggest that disturbance events such as a gamma-irradiation can modify microbial communities in long-term apple orchards thus allowing a soil re-colonization suitable to increase soil suppressiveness.
F. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; F. De Luca Picione; L.M. Manici. Rhizospheric changes of fungal and bacterial communities in relation to soil health of multi-generation apple orchards. Biological Control 2015, 88, 8 -17.
AMA StyleF. Caputo, F. Nicoletti, F. De Luca Picione, L.M. Manici. Rhizospheric changes of fungal and bacterial communities in relation to soil health of multi-generation apple orchards. Biological Control. 2015; 88 ():8-17.
Chicago/Turabian StyleF. Caputo; F. Nicoletti; F. De Luca Picione; L.M. Manici. 2015. "Rhizospheric changes of fungal and bacterial communities in relation to soil health of multi-generation apple orchards." Biological Control 88, no. : 8-17.
This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between plant hosts and root‐colonizing fungi recovered from apple orchard soils that had been replanted over multiple generations. Functional relationships of three groups of filamentous fungi (Ceratobasidium sp., Cylindrocarpon‐like group and Fusarium acuminatum) with apple rootstocks were evaluated in plant growth bioassays. The Cylindrocarpon‐like group and Ceratobasidium sp. showed a relationship with the host plant varying from pathogenic to commensal through to mutualistic for the latter group, while that of F. acuminatum tended to be mutualistic. Seven fungal isolates of each group, which induced the highest plant growth in bioassays, were evaluated for auxin (IAA) and gibberellin (GA3 and GA4) production in culture filtrate. All isolates of F. acuminatum as well as most of those of the Ceratobasidium sp. and Cylindrocarpon‐like groups produced IAA in culture filtrate. IAA production was evaluated for additional isolates of endophytic fungal species from fruit tree orchards and the functionality of IAA was confirmed by growing in vitro micropropagated plantlets of apple rootstock on MS medium supplemented with fungal culture filtrate. Findings from this study may explain the difficulty in defining the precise role of diverse root‐colonizing fungal populations in replant disease aetiology of fruit tree orchards. However, the results demonstrate the presence of a positive and widely available biotic component of the orchard soil biology that may be exploited for the benefit of tree growth and production.
L. M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; M. Mazzola. Auxin-mediated relationships between apple plants and root inhabiting fungi: impact on root pathogens and potentialities of growth-promoting populations. Plant Pathology 2014, 64, 843 -851.
AMA StyleL. M. Manici, M. Kelderer, F. Caputo, M. Mazzola. Auxin-mediated relationships between apple plants and root inhabiting fungi: impact on root pathogens and potentialities of growth-promoting populations. Plant Pathology. 2014; 64 (4):843-851.
Chicago/Turabian StyleL. M. Manici; M. Kelderer; F. Caputo; M. Mazzola. 2014. "Auxin-mediated relationships between apple plants and root inhabiting fungi: impact on root pathogens and potentialities of growth-promoting populations." Plant Pathology 64, no. 4: 843-851.