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Plant growth-promoting Bacillus suppress Brevicoryne brassicae field infestation and trigger density-dependent and density-independent natural enemy responses
Soil-dwelling plant growth-promoting (PGP) Bacillus lives in intimate associations with plants; some species offer direct benefits via plant growth promotion while others confer protection against various pathogens. However, the roles of PGP Bacillus as elicitors of plant defences against agricultur...
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Published in: | Journal of pest science 2016-09, Vol.89 (4), p.985-992 |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Soil-dwelling plant growth-promoting (PGP)
Bacillus
lives in intimate associations with plants; some species offer direct benefits via plant growth promotion while others confer protection against various pathogens. However, the roles of PGP
Bacillus
as elicitors of plant defences against agricultural pests and as a component of integrated pest management systems remain virtually unexplored. The effects of three major ubiquitous gram-positive rhizobacteria;
Bacillus cereus
,
Bacillus subtilis
and
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens
were studied individually and in admixture on (i) calabrese (sprouting broccoli,
Brassica oleracea
) vegetative and reproductive growth parameters and (ii) the population dynamics of the specialist cosmopolitan pest, cabbage aphid (
Brevicoryne brassicae
) infestation, and its important natural enemies; the braconid endoparasitoid (
Diaeretiella
rapae
), ladybird beetle (
Coccinella septempunctata
) and syrphid fly (all species). We found that all
Bacillus
treatments efficiently suppressed
B. brassicae
field populations in varying magnitudes.
B. cereus
and
B. subtilis
significantly increased the rates of parasitism by
D. rapae
, however, none of the other treated plants lured natural enemies, which responded in a density-dependent manner. Although the mixed
Bacillus
treatment significantly reduced root weight ratio, none of the
Bacillus
spp. treatments produced significant effects on calabrese growth. Taken together, PGP
Bacillus
may offer multiple plant benefits through suppressed pest infestation and increased percent parasitism in the field, with potential applications in integrated pest management. |
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ISSN: | 1612-4758 1612-4766 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10340-015-0721-8 |