• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2010

The heat-inactivated (at $121^{\circ}C$ for 20 min) conidial suspension of Bipolaris cactivora (HICS) was evaluated for the control of Bipolaris stem rot of cactus caused by B. cactivora. Severe rot symptoms were developed on the cactus stem discs inoculated with B. cactivora from 5 days after inoculation. However, only small brownish spots developed on the stem discs treated with HICS 2 days prior to the pathogen inoculation. HICS also reduced symptom development on cactus stem discs inoculated with other fungal pathogens such as Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, and Fusarium oxysporum, suggesting its disease-inhibitory efficacy may not be pathogen-specific. HICS significantly reduced severities of the stem rot disease on several cactus species including Hylocereus trigonus, Cereus peruvianus, Chamaecereus silvestrii and Gymnocalycium mianovichii, but not on Cereus tetragonus. Extensive wound periderms were formed in the stem tissues of inoculation and/or wounding sites on C. peruvianus treated with HICS alone or prior to the pathogen inoculation, but not on C. tetragonus, indicating the structural modifications may be related to the mechanism of disease suppression by HICS. HICS also reduced the disease development on the grafted cactus (H. trigonus stock and G. mianovichii scion) with the control efficacy nearly equivalent to the application of a commercial fungicide. All of these results suggest HICS can be used as an environmental-friendly agent for the control of the cactus stem disease.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.56-59
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• 2001

Stem rot of cacti was found at major cultivating areas including Koyang, Ansung and Eumsung of Korea in 2000. Bipolaris cactivora was consistently isolated from the lesions. The disease occurred on different species of cactus including Cereus peruvianus, C. neopithahaja f. monstruo년, C. tetragonus, Chamaeceresu silestrii, Ch. silvestrii, f. variegata, Gymnocalcium mihanovichii var. friedrichii. G. denudatum var. pentacantha, Hylocereus trigonus and Isolatocereus dumortier. Major symptoms on the cactus species except H. trigohus were almost identical. A rapid rot of the upper portion of the catus stem appeared, and became blackened and somewhat dry. On H. trigonus, the symptom was initially light yellow, water-soaked lesion, turned into light brown and dried to death. According to pathogenicity test, 10 out of 16 cactus species and varieties tested produced identical symptoms as found in the field. However, the fungi did not show pathogenicity to Notocactus scopa, Echinocactus grusonii, Eriocactus leninghausii, Lobivia nealeana, Mammillaria elongata var. intertexta.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.42-51
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• 2013

One of the most important limiting factors for the production of the grafted cactus in Korea is the qualitative and quantitative yield loss derived from stem rots especially caused by Bipolaris cactivora. This study is aimed to develop microbial control agents useful for the control of the bipolaris stem rot. Two bacteria (GA1-23 and GA4-4) selected out of 943 microbial isolates because of their strong antibiotic activity against B. cactivora were identified as Bacillus subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens, respectively, by the cultural characteristics, Biolog program and 16S rRNA sequencing analyses. Both bacterial isolates significantly inhibited the conidial germination and mycelial growth of the pathogen with no significant difference between the two, of which the inhibitory efficacies varied depending on the cultural conditions such as temperature, nutritional compositions and concentrations. Light and electron microscopy of the pathogen treated with the bacterial isolates showed the inhibition of spore germination with initial malformation of germ tubes and later formation of circle-like vesicles with no hyphal growth and hyphal disruption sometimes accompanied by hyphal swellings and shrinkages adjacent to the bacteria, suggesting their antibiotic mode of antagonistic activity. Control efficacy of B. subtilis GA1-23 and B. amyloliquefaciens GA4-4 on the cactus stem rot were not as high as but comparable to that of fungicide difenoconazole when they were treated simultaneously at the time of pathogen inoculation. All of these results suggest the two bacterial isolates have a good potential to be developed as biocontrol agents for the bipolaris stem rot of the grafted cactus.

• Korean Journal Plant Pathology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.661-663
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• 1998

Bipolaris stem rot of cactus severely occurred up to 77% at the field of Koyang and Kimcheon from 1996 to 1997. The symptom was initially light yellow, water soaked round lesion, subsequently turned light brown and dried to death. The causal fungus was identified as Bipolaris cactivora (Petrak) Alcorn. Conidia were obclavate to fusoid, rounded ends, light brown color, 1~4 septate, and conidial size was 23~42$\times$6~9 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ (av. 32.5$\times$7.5 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$). Conidiophores were caespitose, straight, pale to golden brown and 67~280 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in length. When healthy cacti were inoculated with the isolates obtained form the lesion of diseased plants, the same characteristic symptoms as those in the field were produced. The symptom of four-month-old cactus was developed more rapidly than that of six-month-old cactus. The pathogen was reisolated from the artificially inoculated lesions.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.383.6-384
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• 2001

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2004

A total of 62 isolates of Bipolaris cactivora causing cactus stem rots were isolated from major cactus-growing areas in Korea. Colony morphology of the isolates on potato-dextrose agar was differentiated into aerial (CA) and non-aerial mycelial types (CB). CA had profound aerial mycelium with grayish brown (CA-l), light brownish (CA-2), and brownish (CA-3) pigmentations; respectively, while CB had dark brownish pigmentations. CA had conidia of less dark pigmentation and acute terminal end. CB had darker and more round-end conidia. Twenty-eight amplified fragments were produced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with a set of 2 random primers. The sizes of amplified DNA fragments ranged approximately from 0.1 to 2.3 kb. The isolates were classified into 2 major genomic DNA random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) groups at the genomic similarity of 97.7％ and 95.1％, respectively. Cluster analysis of genetic similarity among the isolates generated a dendrogram that clearly separated all isolates into SA or SB. This result suggests that there may be two morphotypes of B. cactivora in Korea that may differ in their genetic constitutes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.21.1-21
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• 2000