• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.96-103
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• 2007

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have the potential to be used as microbial inoculants to reduce disease incidence and severity and to increase crop yield. Some of the PGPR have been reported to be able to enter plant tissues and establish endophytic populations. Here, we demonstrated an approach to screen bacterial endophytes that have the capacity to promote the growth of pepper seedlings and protect pepper plants against a bacterial pathogen. Initially, out of 150 bacterial isolates collected from healthy stems of peppers cultivated in the Chungcheong and Gyeongsang provinces of Korea, 23 putative endophytic isolates that were considered to be predominating and representative of each pepper sample were selected. By phenotypic characterization and partial 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the isolates were identified as species of Ochrobacterium, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Janthinobacterium, Ralstonia, Arthrobacter, Clavibacter, Sporosarcina, Acidovorax, and Brevundimonas. Among them, two isolates, PS4 and PS27, were selected because they showed consistent colonizing capacity in pepper stems at the levels of $10^6-10^7CFU/g$ tissue, and were found to be most closely related to Pseudomonas rhodesiae and Pantoea ananatis, respectively, by additional analyses of their entire 16S rDNA sequences. Drenching application of the two strains on the pepper seedlings promoted significant growth of peppers, enhancing their root fresh weight by 73.9% and 41.5%, respectively. The two strains also elicited induced systemic resistance of plants against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.968-975
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• 2018

In the course of screening for microbes with nematicidal activity, we found that Enterobacter asburiae HK169 displayed promising nematicidal activity against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, along with plant growth-promoting properties. Soil drenching of a culture of HK169 reduced gall formation by 66% while also increasing root and shoot weights by 251% and 160%, respectively, compared with an untreated control. The cell-free culture filtrate of the HK169 culture killed all juveniles of M. incognita within 48 h. In addition, the nematicidal activity of the culture filtrate was dramatically reduced by a protease inhibitor, suggesting that proteolytic enzymes contribute to the nematicidal activity of HK169. In order to obtain genomic information about the HK169 isolate related to its nematicidal and plant growth-promoting activities, we sequenced and analyzed the whole genome of the HK169 isolate, and the resulting information provided evidence that the HK169 isolate has nematicidal and plant growth-promoting activities. Taken together, these observations enable the future application of E. asburiae HK169 as a biocontrol agent for nematode control and promote our understanding of the beneficial interactions between E. asburiae HK169 and plants.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.357-362
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• 2012

Proper light intensity, shading tolerance, potting media, and fertilization level were investigated to develop Orostachys iwarenge for. magnus (Korean name, Ullungyeonwhabawisol) as a potted ornamental plant. The plants were grown under different light intensity (52, 82, 90, and 97% shading). The best growth was shown at 52% shading, which indicated that the proper light intensity for O. iwarenge for. magnus is less than 52% of shading. Plant growth decreased severely at 82% shading and leaf color became lighter as the shading rate increased, which indicated that O. iwarenge for. magnus has no tolerance against low light intensity. To select a proper potting media, decomposed granite (DG), fertilizer-amended media (FAM), river sand (RS) were used as potting medium with different ratio of 60:20:20 (DG:FAM:RS, v/v/v), 80:20 (DG:FAM, v/v), 60:40 (DG:FAM, v/v), and 20:80 (FAM:RS, v/v). DG:FAM:RS (60:20:20) showed the highest values in shoot fresh weight, plant width, and number of runner in potted O. iwarenge for. magnus. Fresh weight of shoot part was 16 g in DG:FAM:RS (60:20:20), which was about 2 folds of those at the other medium. At the experiment for selection of proper fertilization level, plants showed a better growth as the concentration of hyponex solution and application frequency increased. Once drenching 1 week interval of hyponex solution diluted by 1,000 folds brought the highest results in fresh weight, plant width, and runner number. Particularly, fresh weight of shoot part was 35 g at once drenching per week of 1,000 folds solution, indicating 84% improvement comparing with non treatment (19 g).

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2007

Nine plant growth regulators (PGRs) were tested for in vivo antifungal activities against on rice blast. They showed higher in vivo antifungal activities when they were applied on rice plants by soil drench rather than foliar spray. Except for 2,4-D at $500\;{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$, the others showed a very low or no activity against the disease in foliar spray applications. In contrast, 2,4-D, indole butyric acid (IBA) and triiodobenzoic acid, at $500\;{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$, showed control values of 98.9, 97.8 and 88.9% in soil drench applications. Furthermore, the control activity of IBA was dependent on its concentration against rice blast; IBA suppressed the development of rice blast by 71.7% at $125\;{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$ and 85.8% at $250\;{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$. IBA also controlled the development of rice blast on adult plants by 63.9% at a dosage of 2.56 kg/10a. The results revealed that IBA has a good activity against rice blast when it is applied by soil drench.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.152-164
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• 2015

Biological control of major rice diseases has been attempted in several rice-growing countries in Asia during the last few decades and its application using antagonistic bacteria has proved to be somewhat successful for controlling various fungal diseases in field trials. Two novel endophytic Bacillus species, designated strains YC7007 and $YC7010^T$, with antimicrobial, plant growth-promoting, and systemic resistance-inducing activities were isolated from the roots of rice in paddy fields at Jinju, Korea, and their multifunctional activities were analyzed. Strain YC7007 inhibited mycelial growth of major rice fungal pathogens strongly in vitro. Bacterial blight and panicle blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (KACC 10208) and Burkholderia glumae (KACC 44022), respectively, were also suppressed effectively by drenching a bacterial suspension ($10^7cfu/ml$) of strain YC7007 on the rhizosphere of rice. Additionally, strain YC7007 promoted the growth of rice seedlings with higher germination rates and more tillers than the untreated control. The taxonomic position of the strains was also investigated. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that both strains belong to the genus Bacillus, with high similarity to the closely related strains, Bacillus siamensis KACC $15859^T$ (99.67%), Bacillus methylotrophicus KACC $13105^T$ (99.65%), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum KACC $17177^T$ (99.60%), and Bacillus tequilensis KACC $15944^T$ (99.45%). The DNA-DNA relatedness value between strain $YC7010^T$ and the most closely related strain, B. siamensis KACC $15859^T$ was $50.4{\pm}3.5%$, but it was $91.5{\pm}11.0%$ between two strains YC7007 and $YC7010^T$, indicating the same species. The major fatty acids of two strains were anteiso-$C_{15:0}$ and iso $C_{15:0}$. Both strains contained MK-7 as a major respiratory quinone system. The G+C contents of the genomic DNA of two strains were 50.5 mol% and 51.2 mol%, respectively. Based on these polyphasic studies, the two strains YC7007 and $YC7010^T$ represent novel species of the genus Bacillus, for which the name Bacillus oryzicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is $YC7010^T$ (= KACC $18228^T$). Taken together, our findings suggest that novel endophytic Bacillus strains can be used for the biological control of rice diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.81-87
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• 2005

Ethaboxam[(RS)-N-(a-cyano-2-thenyl)-4-ethyl-2-(ethylamino)-1,3-thiazole-5-carboximide] is a novel fungicide with high level of activity against Oomycetes fungi. The control effects of ethaboxam technical and various ethaboxam formulations were investigated against P. brassicae, the causal agent of clubroot disease in Chinese cabbage. When ethaboxam was applied to infested soil, club formation caused by P. brassicae was strongly inhibited at 8.33 mg/L soil and $EC_{50}$ of ethaboxam was 2.65 mg/L soil. Five ethaboxam formulations [10% suspension concentrate (SC), 15% SC, 2% granule (GR), 5% GR, 25% wettable powder] and mixture formulation of ethaboxam and metalaxyl (3%+1% GR) exhibited good efficacy against the pathogen. 10% SC, 15% SC, and 2% GR formulations of ethaboxam showed better disease controlling efficacy on Chinese cabbage clubroot than the other formulations. The $EC_{50}$ values of 10% SC, 15% SC, and 2% GR formulations of ethaboxam were 3.72 mg AI/L soil, 1.1 mg AI/L soil, and 4.95 mg AI/L soil, respectively. Among them, soil drenching application by 15% SC formulation of ethaboxam exhibited the most in vivo antifungal activity on P. brassicae. These results indicate that ethaboxam has a high potential for the control of clubroot disease.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.353-358
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• 2018

An effective bioformulation of mixtures of chitin-degrading bacteria has been used successfully to control plant diseases and nematodes. In this study, the bioformulation approach was assessed to control damping-off disease of ginseng. In pot experiments with soils infested with dapming-off pathogens of ginseng, root-drenchings of Chrobacterium sp. C-61, Lysobacterium enzymogenes C-3, and mixture of two bacterial strains grown in chitin minimal medium were signficantly increased emergence of seeds and reduced damping-off disease incidence of seedlings. Efficacy of the bioformulated product depended on the dose and timing of application. In two-year-old ginseng field, the high control efficacies were achieved by soil drenching of two times with an undiluted product or three times with a 10-fold diluted product. In a To-jik nursery (self soil nursery), biocontrol efficacy of the undiluted product against damping-off disease were similar to that of a seed dressing with fungicide, Tolclofos-methyl WP. These results suggest that the bioformulated product containing Chromobacterium sp. C-61 and L. enzymogenes C-3 could be an effective approach to control of ginseng damping-off disease.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.158-166
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• 2017

The object of this study was to improve tomato seedling quality in low temperature(below 7, $10^{\circ}C$ during night time or daily mean air temperature was $18^{\circ}C$) by application of silicate fertilizer. Six different silicate fertilizer concentrations (8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256mM) or water as the control were applied to tomato seedlings twice a week for 20 days. Positive effects were observed in the growth parameters of the seedlings treated with 16 and 32mM silicate fertilizer; the most effective concentration of silicate at which seedlings showed the best performance was 16mM. However, a high concentration of silicate (256mM) caused negative effects on the growth. The transpiration rate decreased alongside with the increase of silicate concentration up to 32mM, possibly due to the increased stomatal diffusive resistance. Silicate stimulated the growth and development of tomato seedlings, resulting in increased growth parameters and root morphology. However, no significant differences were observed among treatment numbers of soil-drenching wuth the silicate (6, 10, or 20 times with 16mM) for 20 days, suggesting that silicate treatment with 6 times may be sufficient to induce the silicate effects. The application of 16mM of silicate fertilizer reduced relative ion leakage and chilling injury during low temperature storage. In addition, the seedlings treated with silicate fertilizer recovered faster than those without silicate treatment after low temperature storage.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.872-878
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• 2014

This study aimed to enhance storage and freshness of strawberry fruits and foliage vegetables by spray treatment with Chlorella vulgaris as a bio-fertilizer. The tested strain, C. vulgaris CHK0008, was isolated from an organically cultivated rice paddy and identified as C. vulgaris by its morphology and 18S rDNA and 23S rDNA sequence homology. We successfully cultured C. vulgaris CHK0008 in BG11 modified medium (BG11MM) and adjusted $2.15{\times}10^6cell/mL$ C. vulgaris CHK0008 to one OD value by measuring the optical density at 680 nm using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The soluble solid content of 'Seolhyang' and 'Yukbo' strawberry fruits treated by spray application with C. vulgaris CHK0008 was enhanced by 22.2% and 11.5% respectively, compared to untreated controls. Additionally, the decay rates of treated 'Seolhyang' and 'Yukbo' strawberry fruits decreased 63.8% and 74.4% respectively, compared to untreated control. Surface color changes and chlorosis of leaves in leaf vegetables such as lettuce, kale, red ornamental kale, white ornamental kale and beet were observed in samples treated with water spray for 10 days after cold storage. However, the decay rate of leafy vegetables treated with foliar application of 25% C. vulgaris CHK0008 liquid culture was significantly decreased compared to that of the untreated control during storage at $4^{\circ}C$.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.221-231
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• 2018

The susceptibility of the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis and garden thrips, Frankliniella intonsa was evaluated using 51 commercial insecticides. 15 kinds of insecticides which showed more than 90% mortality against both thrips, F. occidentalis and F. intonsa was selected. Many active ingredients were misused and abused in commercial mixture formulation insecticides. Since the F. intonsa was more susceptible than F. occidentalis, it was considered that both thrips can be controlled by insecticides that showed insecticidal activity on the F. occidentalis. Lethal time ($LT_{50}$ and $LT_{95}$), systemic toxicity and residual toxicity of selected insecticides were compared. Both chlorpyrifos WP and chlorpyrifos + diflubenzuron WP revealed the fastest toxicity within 2 h ($LT_{95}$), while spinetoram WG revealed the slowest toxicity as 62.3 h ($LT_{95}$). Chlorfenapyr SC showed toxicity at foliar and drenching application while spinetoram WG was toxic only in foliar application. Chlorfenapyr SC showed residual effect at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 days after treatment and both benfuracarb WG and chlorpyrifos WP showed residual effect at 3 days after treatment. As a result of treatment of selected insecticides for field population of F. occidentalis, the population collected from horticultural crops showed lower susceptibility than the population collected from vegetable crops.