Effect of pyraclostrobin application on viral and bacterial diseases of tomato
N. SKANDALIS (1), A. Dimopoulou (1), D. Beri (1), A. Tzima (1), I. Malandraki (1), I. Theologidis (1), S. Bitivanos (2), C. Varveri (1), T. Klitsinaris (3), N. Vassilakos (1) (1) Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Greece; (2) BASF Hellas S.A., Greece; (3) BASF Hellas S.A., Greece

Quinone outside inhibitors (QoI) are powerful fungicides, which have been reported, additionally to their fungicide activity, to increase plant capacity to activate cellular defense responses and to promote plant growth. In this work, the effect of the QoI class fungicide pyraclostrobin was examined against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Potato virus Y (PVY) and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pto) in tomato plants following artificial inoculation of the plants with the pathogens. Under controlled environmental conditions, pyraclostrobin delayed viral and bacterial disease development, even if Pto internal population levels were not affected significantly. Moreover, under field conditions in commercial greenhouses, a reduced CMV disease incidence throughout the tomato cultivation period was recorded. Gene expression analysis indicated an effect of pyraclostrobin application on tomato MAPKs and other stress related gene transcript levels and thus a possible interference with plant stress responses. Taking into consideration the lack of means for the control of viral and bacterial diseases in practice, the capacity of a secondary function of a widely applied fungicide against additional pathogen targets could be important for both economic and environmental reasons.

Abstract Number: P20-716
Session Type: Poster