• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.45 no.7
• /
• pp.70-82
• /
• 2003

A pilot study was performed from July 1998 to December 2002, including winter performance, to examine seasonal performance of a constructed wetland and subsequent pond system for treatment of sewage in small communities of Korea. Pond was operated as a intermittent-discharge pond during winter period, and continuous flow system during growing season; its effects was evaluated from December 2001 to April 2003. The subsurface flow (SSF) wetland was satisfactory for treating sewage with good removal efficiency even during the winter period. The wetland effluent concentrations of $BOD_5$ and TSS were often higher in winter than in the growing season, but this was explained by the higher loading rates, rather than lower removal efficiency. The relatively poor-quality wetland effluent was further polished during winter in the pond. The upper layer of the pond water column became remarkably clear immediately after ice melt. In the growing season, ponds could be operated as a continuous flow system to remove nutrients and pathogens, and the effluent of pond could be reused as a supplemental irrigation water without risk of infection by sewage-borne pathogens as well as causing adverse effect on growth and yield. Overall, the wetland system was found to be adequate for treating sewage with stable removal efficiency, and the intermittent-discharge pond was found to be effective for further polishing if necessary. Therefore, the combination of a wetland and subsequent pond system and reuse of effluent as crop irrigation water is recommended as a practical alternative to treat sewage in Korean small communities, and partial discharge of pond water in March is suggested.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.38-46
• /
• 2020

Background: Although Sancho (Zanthoxylum schinifolium Siebold & Zucc) oil has traditionally been used for its antibiotics properties, there is currently a lack of scientific evidence regarding its biological activities. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Sancho oil against food-hazardous microorganisms, phytopathogens, and dermatophytes. Methods and Results: We investiated the antimicrobial activity of Sancho oil against 11 food-hazardous microorganisms, nine phytopathogens, and six dermatophytes. The Sancho oil was found to show the strongest antibacterial activity against Shigella flexneri and Listeria spp. Sancho oil also showed high antifungal activity against plant pathogens, particularly Fusarium oxysporum, and showed antimicrobial activity against dermatophytes such as Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Candida albicans. The antioxidant activity of Sancho oil was measured using the DPPH method, and was found to be stronger than that of unrefined oil. Moreover, this activity increased with increasing oil concentration. Conclusions: We found that Sancho oil showed differing antimicrobial activities against food-hazardous microorganisms, dermatophytes, and plant pathogens. The antimicrobial activity spectrum of Sancho oil was not broad and varied among microbial strains. On the basis of our findings, we consider that Sancho oil could be used an antibacterial material for food-borne S. flexneri and Listeria spp., a biopesticide for Fusarium spp., and a treatment for dermatophytes such as T. rubrum.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.392-400
• /
• 2017

Peanut yield and quality are seriously affected by pod rot pathogens worldwide, especially in China in recent years. The goals of this study are to analyze the structure of fungal communities of peanut pod rot in soil in three peanut cultivars and the correlation of pod rot with environmental variables using 454 pyrosequencing. A total of 46,723 internal transcribed spacer high-quality sequences were obtained and grouped into 1,706 operational taxonomic units at the 97% similarity cut-off level. The coverage, rank abundance, and the Chao 1 and Shannon diversity indices of the operational taxonomic units were analyzed. Members of the phylum Ascomycota were dominant, such as Fusarium, Chaetomium, Alternaria, and Sordariomycetes, followed by Basidiomycota. The results of the heatmap and redundancy analysis revealed significant variation in the composition of the fungal community among the three cultivar samples. The environmental conditions in different peanut cultivars may also influence on the structure of the fungal community. The results of this study suggest that the causal agent of peanut pod rot may be more complex, and cultivars and environmental conditions are both important contributors to the community structure of peanut pod rot fungi.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.195-209
• /
• 2023

The seed borne disease such as bakanae is difficult to control. Crop yield loss caused by bakanae depending on the regions and varieties grown, ranging from 3.0% to 95.4%. Bakanae is an important disease of rice worldwide and the pathogen was identified as Fusarium fujikuroi Nirenberg (teleomorph: Gibberella fujikuroi Sawada). Currently, four Fusaria (F. fujikuroi, F. proliferatum, F. verticillioides and F. andiyazi) belonging to F. fujikuroi species complex are generally known as the pathogens of bakanae. The infection occurs through both seed and soil-borne transmission. When infection occurs during the heading stage, rice seeds become contaminated. Molecular detection of pathogens of bakanae is important because identification based on morphological and biological characters could lead to incorrect species designation and time-consuming. Seed disinfection has been studied for a long time in Korea for the management of the bakanae disease of rice. As seed disinfectants have been studied to control bakanae, resistance studies to chemicals have been also conducted. Presently biological control and resistant varieties are not widely used. The detection of this pathogen is critical for seed certification and for preventing field infections. In South Korea, bakanae is designated as a regulated pathogen. To provide highly qualified rice seeds to farms, Korea Seed & Variety Service (KSVS) has been producing and distributing certified rice seeds for producing healthy rice in fields. Therefore, the objective of the study is to summarize the recent progress in molecular identification, fungicide resistance, and the management strategy of bakanae.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.294-302
• /
• 2016

Background: Crop rotation plays an important role in improving soil chemical properties, minimizing the presence of disease pathogens, and assists in neutralizing autotoxic effects associated with allelochemicals. Methods and Results: Five rotation crops of sudan grass, soybean, peanut, sweet potato, and perilla were cultivated for one year with an aim to reduce yield losses caused by repeated cropping of ginseng. In 2-year-old ginseng grown in the same soil as a previous ginseng crop, stem length and leaf area were reduced by 30%, and root weight per plant was reduced by 56%. Crop rotation resulted in a significant decrease in electrical conductivity, $NO_3$, and $P_2O_5$ content of the soil, whereas organic matter, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn content remained-unchanged. Soil K content was increased following crop rotation with sudan grass and peanut only. Rotation with all alternate crops increased subsequent ginseng aerial plant biomass, whereas root weight per plant significantly increased following crop rotation with perilla only. A significant positive correlation was observed between root rot ration and soil K content, and a significant negative correlation was observed between ginseng root yield and the abundance of actinomycetes. Crop rotation affected the soil microbial community by increasing gram negative microbes, the ratio of aerobic microbes, and total microbial biomass whereas decreases were observed in actinomycetes and the ration of saturated fatty acids. Conclusions: In soil exhibiting crop failure following replanting, crop rotation for one year promoted both soil microbial activity and subsequent ginseng aerial plant biomass, but did not ameliorate the occurrence of root rot disease.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.388-393
• /
• 2013

It has been well documented that Bacillus vallismortis strain EXTN-1, a beneficial rhizosphere bacterium, could enhance plant growth and induce systemic resistance to diverse pathogens in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms for how the EXTN-1 promote plant growth and induce resistances to diverse pathogens. Here, we show that 3-Hydroxy-2-butanone, a volatile organic compound (VOCs) emitted from the EXTN1, is a key factor for the bacteria-mediated beneficial effects on plant growth and defense systems. We found that the presence of volatile signals of EXTN-1 resulted in growth promotion of tobacco seedlings. The identification and analysis of EXTN-1-secreted volatile signals by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) indicated that a 3-hydroxy-2-butanone could provide not only the plant growth promotion, but also higher resistance against Pectobacterium carotovorum SCC1. These results suggest that a volatile compound released from EXTN-1 enhances the plant growth promotion and immunity of plants.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.160-171
• /
• 2017

Larvae of Bradysia agrestis, an insect vector that transports plant pathogens, were sampled from geographically isolated regions in Korea to identify their cutaneous fungal and bacterial flora. Sampled areas were chosen within the distribution range of B. agrestis; each site was more than 91 km apart to ensure geographical segregation. We isolated 76 microbial (fungi and bacteria) strains (site 1, 29; site 2, 29; site 3, 18 strains) that were identified on the basis of morphological differences. Species identification was molecularly confirmed by determination of universal fungal internal transcribed spacer and bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in comparison to sequences in the EzTaxon database and the NCBI GenBank database, and their phylogenetic relationships were determined. The fungal isolates belonged to 2 phyla, 5 classes, and 7 genera; bacterial species belonged to 23 genera and 32 species. Microbial diversity differed significantly among the geographical groups with respect to Margalef's richness (3.9, 3.6, and 4.5), Menhinick's index (2.65, 2.46, and 3.30), Simpson's index (0.06, 0.12, and 0.01), and Shannon's index (2.50, 2.17, and 2.58). Although the microbial genera distribution or diversity values clearly varied among geographical groups, common genera were identified in all groups, including the fungal genus Cladosporium, and the bacterial genera Bacillus and Rhodococcus. According to classic principles of co-evolutionary relationship, these genera might have a closer association with their host insect vector B. agrestis than other genera identified. Some cutaneous bacterial genera (e.g., Pseudomonas) displaying weak interdependency with insect vectors may be hazardous to agricultural environments via mechanical transmission via B. agrestis. This study provides comprehensive information regarding the cutaneous microflora of B. agrestis, which can help in the control of such pests for crop management.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.194-198
• /
• 2024

Pathogens of fire blight can survive for a long time on pruning tools, etc., and fire blight can be spread through agricultural implements. In particular, in Korea, pruning is frequently performed to remove flowers, immature fruits, and succulent shoots, and this farm work is known to be a major factor of the spread of fire blight. Therefore, in this study, in order to completely sterilize pathogens on pruning shears, we verified the disinfection effect of disinfectants distributed domestically and used them to identify an effective disinfection method. When disinfecting by immersion after inoculating Erwinia amylovora TS3128 on the scissor blade, 70% ethanol and 1% and 0.2% sodium hypochlorite sterilized immediately 10 sec after immersion, while 30% chlorine dioxide showed little disinfection effect. When disinfecting by spraying, 70% ethanol sterilized bacteria 1 sec after spraying, but 1% and 0.2% sodium hypochlorite disinfected bacteria after 10 and 60 sec, respectively. After cutting the naturally disease occurring branches five and 100 times, the bacteria were not hardly sterilized in immersion treatment in 70% ethanol for 30 sec but perfectly disinfected over 60 sec. Considering these results, pruning shears should be disinfected by frequently immersing them in 70% ethanol for at least 60 sec during pruning work in the field.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.229-236
• /
• 1998

The incidence of fungi and their possible contribution to low vigour were examined in a collection of ginseng (Panax quiquefolius) seed from Ontario. When examined after one winter of stratification in the field and storage at 4f for five months in the laboratory, the collection exhibited low vigour (plant stand 16.7% of seeding rate six weeks after seeding) and high incidence (94%) of discolored or soft seed. Fungi isolated (and incidence) from 1,304 endosperm halves recovered from surface-sterilized seed were, in order of abundance, Fusarium rostrum (22.2%), Chaetomium crispuum (14.3%), Funriud oxysporum (9.0%), Fusarium sdani (9.0%), iwmor sp. (8.4%), Alternaria sp. (8.1%), Zowieua lucotricha (7.8%), Cylindruarpn sp. (0.9%), Fusarium avenacmm (0.9%), and Vdudla iliata (0.4%). Most of these fungi, including known and potential pathogens of ginseng (species of Alerraria, Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium, and Trichodirma), were associated with both healthy and diseased seed. Application of Benlate (benomyl), Thiram (thiram), or UBI-2584 (tebuconazole) to seed caused slight to pronounced reduction in emergence and did not significantly affect plant stand six weeks after seeding. The study demonstrated the high level of infection by fungi, including known and potential pathogens of the cry, in an arbitrary collection of ginseng seed from commercial sources, and the phytotoxicity of the fungicides tested when applied to moist stratified seed. The lack of efficacy of the fungicides precluded determination of the contribution of seedborne fungi to low vigour of the seed.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.88-94
• /
• 2020

Recently, the severe dieback of apple trees resulting from soil-borne diseases has occurred in South Korea. The casual agents of dieback were surveyed on 74 apple orchards that had been damaged nationwide in 2016-2019. The number of apple orchards affected alone by Phytophthora rot, violet root rot, and white root rot was 31, 34, and 3, respectively. Also, the total number of mixed infection orchards was 6. Out of 9,112 apple trees affected by dieback, the trees damaged by Phytophthora rot, violet root rot, and white root rot were 3,332, 3,831, and 44, respectively. Moreover, the total number of mixed infection apple trees was 1,905. The provinces mainly affected were Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Chungbuk, and Jeonbuk. The survey on these infected apple orchards will be available to form management strategy for the dieback that had been increased by soil-borne fungal pathogens.