Buffalo dung-inhabiting bacteria enhance the nutrient enrichment of soil and proximate contents of Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

The present study was aimed to study the effect of bacteria inhabiting in buffalo dung on nutritional properties of soil and plant. Three beneficial bacteria Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter xiangfangensis were isolated from buffalo dung to evaluate for their effects individually as well as in consortium. The combined effect of P. mirabilis and P. aeruginosa showed a significant enhancement in different biological parameters of Foeniculum vulgare such as primary branch (99.32%), secondary branch (98.32%), number of umbels (87.62%), number of umbellets (99.85%), number of seeds (104.94%), grain yield (62.38%), biological yield (35.99%), and harvest index (19.48%). Consortium of these potent bacteria also enhanced proximate constituents such as total ash (49.79%), ether extract (63.06%), crude fibre (48.91%), moisture content (33.40%), dry matter (31.45%), acid insoluble ash (33.20%), and crude protein (40.73%). A highly significant correlation (p ≤ 0.01) was found between nitrogen (r = 0.97), phosphorous (r = 0.95), and potassium (r = 0.97) contents of soil. This research enhances the knowledge of the effect of plant growth-promoting bacteria on nutrient properties of soil and fennel which deliver a new index for healthier use in organic agricultural practices.

Effects of Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera on growth and yield of essential oil in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) under greenhouse conditions.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a very important plant in the family of Apiaceae. Effects of inoculation of two endophytic fungi (Piriformospora indica and Sebacina vermifera) in growth, yield and composition of the essential oil of fennel (F. vulgare) were evaluated in pot cultures. Dry fruits were ground with an electric grinder and oil was extracted by hydrodistillation, and their composition was determined by GC/MS. In pot experiment, the maximum dry weight of the green tissue and root and plant height were obtained with P. indica, and maximum number of umbels per plant and dry weight of 1000 fruits were produced with S. vermifera. The P. indica and S. vermifera inoculation significantly increased oil yield as compared to non-inoculated control plants. GC and GC/MS studies revealed that the level of anethole was increased with P. indica and S. vermifera.

Endophytic fungi occurring in fennel, lettuce, chicory, and celery--commercial crops in southern Italy.

The occurrence of endophytic fungi in fennel, lettuce, chicory, and celery crops was investigated in southern Italy. A total of 186 symptomless plants was randomly collected and sampled at the stage of commercial ripeness. Fungal species of Acremonium, Alternaria, Fusarium, and Plectosporium were detected in all four crops; Plectosporium tabacinum was the most common in all crop species and surveyed sites. The effect of eight endophytic isolates (five belonging to Plectosporium tabacinum and three to three species of Acremonium) inoculated on lettuce plants grown in gnotobiosis was assessed by recording plant height, root length and dry weight, collar diameter, root necrosis, and leaf yellowing. P. tabacinum and three species of Acremonium, inoculated on gnotobiotically grown lettuce plants, showed pathogenic activity that varied with the fungal isolate. Lettuce plants inoculated with the isolates Ak of Acremonium kiliense, Ac of Acremonium cucurbitacearum, and P35 of P. tabacinum showed an increased root growth, compared to the non-inoculated control. The high frequency of P. tabacinum isolation recorded in lettuce plants collected in Bari and Metaponto, and in fennel plants from Foggia agricultural districts, suggests a relationship not only between a crop species and P. tabacinum, but also between the occurrence of the endophyte and the crop rotation history of the soil.

Phoma glomerata as causal agent of crown rot disease of fennel in southern Italy.

In the autumn seasons of the years 2005 and 2006 millions of fennel seedlings under greenhouse in nurseries where observed in Basilicata, Calabria, Campania and Apulia Regions, southern Italy, with serious symptoms of damping off and root necrosis. The basal part of seedling stem was much thinner than the uninvaded parts above it and the crown was brown and shrink. The incidence of disease reached values ut to 100% in some blocks where the humidity was higher, and seedlings attached earlier died. Almost all fennel varieties were interested by the disease, some of them more seriously. Seedlings attached later recovered to a great extent after transplanting in open field. In this work the identification of the causal agent of this disease was made applying Koch's postulates. Moreover, for a rapid and unambiguous identification of the fungus species, the internal transcribed spacers and the 5.8 rDNA gene (ITS1-5.8-ITS2) were amplified from DNA extracted from the isolated colonies. The fragment of amplified DNA was sequenced and compared with those present in Gene Bank (NCBI). The fungus isolated after the morphological and molecular characterization was ascribed to the species Phoma glomerata (Corda) Wollenweber & Hochapfel. This is the first report of P. glomerata as agent of crown rot of fennel.

Molecular epidemiology of Salmonella enterica serovar Agona: characterization of a diffuse outbreak caused by aniseed-fennel-caraway infusion.

During 2002-2003 increased numbers of notified salmonellosis due to S. enterica serovar Agona were observed in Germany. In order to understand the recent spread of this serovar and to trace the route of infection to its source, a new phage-typing scheme and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to analyse these isolates. By using 14 bacteriophages, 52 phage types were distinguished among the S. Agona strains. PFGE also differentiated 52 different patterns. A combination of both methods generated 94 clonal types among 165 S. Agona strains originating from Germany and other countries including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India, Austria and Finland, indicating a great biological diversity within this serovar. However, 36 recent S. Agona isolates from infantile gastroenteritis in Germany, from an untreated batch of aniseed imported from Turkey and from fennel-aniseed-caraway infusion (packed in tea bags) revealed clonal identity indicating their epidemiological relatedness as a new source of infection. It is suggested that strains of S. Agona will continue to be of public health concern, and that phage typing together with PFGE typing should be applied as reliable and rapid tools for epidemiological subtyping and future monitoring.

Effectiveness and residues of procymidone applied on celery and fennel in the control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary.

A biennial experimentation has been led using the active ingredient (a.i.) procymidone, for the control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) De Bary on fennel and celery. At present this utilizathion it is not authorized, even though this "minor use" is considered essential for the control of the various phytopathologies. For every test, both in field and in greenhouse, two treatments to the dose of 40 g/hl of a.i. have been made. After the second treatment two assessments were led to check effectiveness of a.i. and subsequent vegetable samplings have been made to determine the entity and the persistence of the residues of the used active ingredient. At the end of the agricultural cycle, in all the tests a good control of the infection caused by the fungus has been found; statistically significant differences of the infection between treated plots and the control. At harvesting (21 days from the 2nd treatment) we have found a residue average value of 0.1-0.2 mg/kg (field) and 0.3-0.4 mg/kg (greenhouse) on fennel and of: 1.0-1.5 mg/kg (field) e 3.0-3.5 mg/kg (greenhouse) on celery.

Improved growth and essential oil yield and quality in Foeniculum vulgare mill on mycorrhizal inoculation supplemented with P-fertilizer.

Two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Glomus macrocarpum and Glomus fasciculatum significantly improved growth and essential oil concentration of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. However, AM inoculation of plants along with phosphorus fertilization significantly enhanced growth, P-uptake and essential oil content of plants compared to either of the components applied separately. Among the two fungal inoculants, G. fasciculatum registered the highest growth at both levels of phosphorus used with up to 78% increase in essential oil concentration of fennel seeds over non-mycorrhizal control. The essential oil characterization by gas liquid chromatography revealed that the level of anethol was significantly enhanced on mycorrhization.