• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.49-60
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• 2021

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an important cash crop in Tanzania as a source of income to cashew growers and provides foreign exchange for the country. Despite its significance, the crop is threatened by fast spreading disease known as cashew Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Field assessment and laboratory tests were conducted to determine incidences of the disease, severity, ecological factors that influence them and explored the pathogen host specificity in six cashew growing districts. The results revealed significant (P<0.001) variation of disease incidences and severity among the studied districts. The results further revealed that there is both positive and negative correlation between the incidence and severity of the disease versus the evaluated ecological factors. The soil pH, soil temperature, air temperature, and relative humidity depicted positive correlation of disease incidence and severity versus ecological factors at ρ=0.50 and ρ=0.60, ρ=0.20 and ρ=0.94, ρ=0.11 and ρ=0.812, ρ=0.05 and ρ=0.771 respectively while nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon depicted negative correlations at ρ=-0.22 and ρ=-0.58, ρ=-0.15 and ρ=-0.94, ρ=-0.19 and ρ=-0.12 respectively. In terms of host range, none of the weed species was found to be a carrier of Fusarium pathogen implying that it is host specific or semi selective. The results revealed that the tested ecological parameters favor the growth and development of Fusarium pathogen. Thus, management of the disease requires nutrients replenishment and soil shading as essential components in developing appropriate strategies for the control and prevention of further spread of the disease.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.150-156
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• 2020

Weeds play an important role in the survival of viruses and are potential inoculum sources of viral diseases for crop plants. In this study, specimens of Pseudostellaria heterophylla exhibiting symptoms of the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) were collected in Bonghwa, Korea. The characteristics of the disease were described and leaf RNA was extracted and sequenced to identify the virus. Three CMV contigs were obtained and PCR was performed using specific primer pairs. RNA from positive samples exhibiting CMV leaf symptoms was amplified to determine the coat protein. A sequence comparison of the coat protein gene from the CMV BH isolate shared the highest nucleotide identity (99.2%) with the CMV ZM isolate. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CMV-BH belonged to subgroup IA and that the most closely-related isolate was CMV-ZM. All test plants used for the biological assay were successfully infected with CMV and exhibited CMV disease symptoms such as blistering, mosaic, and vein yellowing. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CMV infection in P. heterophylla from Korea.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2012

Stem rots caused by Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum have been known as devastating diseases in balloon flower plants. Antifungal activities of four fungicides, azoxystrobin, polyoxin B, trifloxystrobin and validamycin A were evaluated in vitro, showing effective suppression with mycelial growth of the fungal isolates on PDA media. Efficacies of the four fungicides were also demonstrated in stem tissues of balloon flower plants against R. solani and S. sclerotiorum. A commercially available Bacillus subtilis strain Y1336 was tested in terms of antagonistic biological control of stem rot disease of balloon flower plants. The bacterial strain revealed its antifungal activities against R. solani and S. sclerotiorum demonstrated by dual culture tests using paper discs and two plant pathogenic fungi on PDA media, as well as by plant inoculation assay, indicating that this antagonistic bacterial strain can be incorporated into disease management program for balloon flower stem rot diseases together with the four chemical fungicides.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.475-485
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• 2024

Chili pepper anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is a significant biotic stress affecting chili fruits globally. While fungicide application is commonly used for disease management due to its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, excessive use poses risks to human health and the environment. Botanical fungicides offer advantages such as rapid degradation and low toxicity to mammals, making them increasingly popular for sustainable plant disease control. This study investigated the antifungal properties of Cestrum tomentosum L.f. crude extracts (CTCE) against Colletotrichum scovillei. The results demonstrated that CTCE effectively inhibited conidia germination and germ tube elongation at 40 ㎍/ml concentrations. Moreover, CTCE exhibited strong antifungal activity against C. scovillei mycelial growth, with an EC50 value of 18.81 ㎍/ml. In vivo experiments confirmed the protective and curative effects of CTCE on chili pepper fruits infected with C. scovillei. XTT analysis showed that the CTCE could significantly inhibit the cell viability of C. scovillei. Mechanistic studies revealed that CTCE disrupted the plasma membrane integrity of C. scovillei and induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species in hyphal cells. These findings highlight CTCE as a promising eco-friendly botanical fungicide for managing C. scovillei infections in chili peppers.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.103-108
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• 1998

The Canadian production of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) occurs mainly in Ontario, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces. Although ginseng is a profitable crop, its successful production is dependent on careful consideration of cultural management f include site selection, site preparation, seed selection and handling, shading actors which and mulching, pest and nutritional management, and handling of harvested crops. Diseases of particular concern in Atlantic Canada are root rots caused by Phytopkthora cactorum, Cylindrocarpon destructans and Fusarium sp. Recently two systemic fungicides (metalaxyl and fosetylal) were registered; however, growers in Atlantic Canada have experienced metalaxyl resistance resulting from the reliance on this single compound for the control of Phytophthora sap. Current research being conducted on alternative control of these diseases will be discussed. In weed control research, 2, 4-D, MCPA, clopyralid have continued to show promise for weed contro1 at low rates. In trials to evaluate non-selective herbicides as post-senescence or pre-emergence in ginseng, glyphosate (Round-up) provided control of perennials as well as willowherb and lambsquarters. In phytoxicity trials, ginseng significantly tolerated grass herbicides, including clethodim, rimsulfuron, trakloxydim, nicosulfuron and fenoxyprop. For broadleaf herbicides, significant tolerance was shown for bromoxynil, thifensulfuron methyl, flumetulam/clopyralid, thifensulfuro/tribenuron. Disease and weed management of ginseng in Atlantic Canada will be discussed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.331-342
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• 2014

Given the lack of a resistant genetic pool in host plants, the introduction of exotic invasive pathogens can result in epidemics that affect a specific ecosystem and economy. Plant quarantine, which is designed to protect endemic plant resources, is a highly invaluable safeguard that should keep biosecurity with increasing international trade and global transportation. A total of 34 species of plant pathogens including Phytophthora infestans were documented as introduced from other countries into Korea from 1900 to 2010. The genus Phytophthora, classified in oomycetes, includes more than 120 species that are mostly recognized worldwide as highly invasive plant pathogens. After 2000, over 50 new species of Phytophthora were identified internationally as plant pathogens occurring in crops and forest trees. In Korea, Phytophthora is also one of the most serious plant pathogens. To date, 22 species (about one-fifth of known species) of the genus have been identified and reported as plant pathogens in the country. The likelihood of new exotic Phytophthora species being introduced into Korea continues to increase, thus necessitating intensive plant quarantine inspections. As new potential threats to plant health in Korea, six Phytophthora species, namely, P. alni, P. inundata, P. kernoviae, P. pinifolia, P. quercina, and P. ramorum, are discussed in this review with focus on history, disease, biology, management, and plant quarantine issues.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.131-131
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• 2018

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.134-143
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• 2020

The goal of this manuscript is to determine seed-borne plant pathogenic bacteria and phytoplasmas among quarantine pests in Korea. Four and two prohibited bacteria and phytoplasmas, respectively, and 35 and 17 restricted bacteria and phytoplasmas, respectively, were assessed whether they are seed-borne or not based on preliminary reports. As results, two species of prohibited bacteria, eighteen species of restricted bacteria, and one species of restricted phytoplasma have been determined as being seed-borne plant pathogenic bacteria. Thus, quarantine fields must account for these lists once inspection has been conducted on imported seeds and also use of these lists can help to reduce the production of new diseases that can spread from infected imported seeds.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.175-185
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• 2012

The problems caused by synthetic pesticides have led the need for effective biodegradable pesticides with greater selectivity. Botanical pesticides are generally recognized as safe in agriculture systems. Thus, they have been regarded as attractive alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides for the pest management. Both lower efficacy and higher costs of production make botanicals more expensive to use than conventional pesticides. Moreover, only a small portion of plant-derived metabolites among a number of bioactive metabolites are in use because commercialization of botanicals is inhibited by several problems such as toxicity, or high production cost. However, with the growing acceptance of botanical pesticides as an efficient crop protection alternative resulting in increasing demand, plant-based pesticides will play a significant role in achieving sustainable agriculture in future.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.181-190
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• 2023

The fungal pathogen Pseudocercospora fuligena, known to affect tomatoes in the tropics and subtropics, has been reported from temperate climates including the United States and Turkey in recent years. In this study, an isolate from fresh tomatoes and the disease it causes were characterized and infection mechanisms investigated. Macroscopically, both sides of tomato leaves show indistinct effuse patches but prolific production of fuliginous lesions is conspicuous on the abaxial side first but also on the adaxial side later on as infection progressed. Microscopically, fascicles of conidiophores (11-128 ㎛ × 3.5-9 ㎛) arising from stromata and conidia with up to 12 septations were observed. Molecular characterization of the isolate revealed high homology (99.8%) to other P. fuligena isolated from tomatoes in Turkey. Out of the 10 media tested, P. fuligena grew significantly well and sporulated better on unsealed tomato oatmeal agar and carrot leaf decoction agar, both supplemented with CaCO₃. Direct transfer of conidia from profusely sporulating lesions was the easiest and quickest method of isolation for in-vitro studies. Light and scanning electron microscopy on cleared and intact tomato leaves further confirmed stomatal penetration and egress as well as prevalence of primary and secondary infection hyphae. In situ, blocked stomatal aperture areas of 154, 401, and 2,043 ㎛² were recorded at 7, 12, and 17 days after inoculation, respectively. With the recent expanded horizon of the pathosystem and its consequential impact, such studies will be useful for a proper diagnosis, identification and management of the disease on tomato worldwide.