Cyanobacteria for Sustainable Management of Lupien Root Rot

Abstract

CYANOBACTERIA have an essential role in stimulating plant growth and suppressing soil-borne fungi. This study investigated the effect of Nostoc sp. and Anabaena spp. filtrates on Fusarium solani infection of yellow lupine (Lupinus luteus) plants, both in vitro and in vivo. Nostoc spp. and Anabaena spp. strains were tested for their capacity to suppress pathogenic fungus. A pot experiment in a greenhouse was carried out to apply both cyanobacterial strains individually and in combination against artificial infection by the F. solani pathogen. After 45 days of sowing, disease assessment, plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, pigment content, membrane leakage, malonaldehyde, membrane leakage peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase, ascorbic acid, and total phenols were measured in plant leaves. Total bacterial and cyanobacterial counts, dehydrogenase, protease, and chitinase activities were determined in the rhizosphere soil of lupine plants. Survival plants were recorded after 60 days of planting. The results demonstrated that the presence of both cyanobacterial strains was capable of suppressing pathogenic fungus infection as a single treatment; however, the combined application resulted in greater suppression than the single treatment, in single application of cyanobacteria the pre-damping of decreased by 40% and by more than 50% in combined application. Nevertheless, cyanobacteria improved growth measurements, defense enzyme activities, and microbial soil activities, hydrolytic enzymes in soil and plant viability.