Selection and Efficacy of Soil Bacteria Inducing Systemic Resistance Against Colletotrichum orbiculare on Cucumber

ABSTRACT

Soil bacteria were screened for the ability to control cucumber anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare through induced systemic resistance (ISR). Sixty-four bacterial strains having in vitro antifungal activity were used for selecting ISR-inducing strains in cucumber. Cucumber seeds (cv. Baeknokdadagi) were sown in potting mixtures incorporated with the soil bacteria, at a rate of ca. 10(8) cells per gram of the mixture. Two week-old plants were then transplanted into the steam-sterilized soil. Three leaf-stage plants were inoculated with a conidial suspension (5x10(5) conidia/ml) of C. orbiculare. Diseased leaf area (%) and number of lesions per cm2 leaf were evaluated on third leaves of the plants, 5~6 days after inoculation. Among 64 strains tested, nine strains, GC-B19, GC-B35, GK-B18, MM-B22, PK-B14, RC-B41, RC-B64, RC-B65, and RC-B77 significantly (P = 0.05) reduced anthracnose disease compared to the untreated control. In contrast, some bacterial strains promoted susceptibility of cucumber to the disease. From the repeated experiments using the nine bacterial strains, GC-B19, MM-B22, PK-B14, and RC-B65 significantly (P = 0.05) reduced both diseased leaf area (%) and number of lesions per cm2 leaf in at lease one experiment. These strains with control efficacy of 37~80% were determined to be effective ISR-inducing strains.