Biological control of Botrytis Cinerea in tomato leaves

Abstract

Clonostachys rosea (C.rosea) is known to induce resistance against a number of plant diseases; it is an antagonistic microorganism to Botrytis cinerea (B.cinerea). The effects of C.rosea on the control of gray mold disease caused by B.cinerea in tomato leaves were examined in this study. To examine the reactions of C.rosea in inducing resistance in tomato plants, three treatments, including B.cinerea treatment (treatment B), C.rosea treatment (treatment C), C.rosea and B.cinerea treatment (treatment C+B) and water (control), to be applied on tomato leaves were set up. The results indicated that the C.rosea treatment stimulated the activity of the superoxide dismutase (SOD), the nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), while the treatment (C+B) reduced the incidence and severity of gray mold. These results indicate that C.rosea treatment has the potential to control gray mold of tomato plants and it can induce the activities of SOD, NO and H2O2 in tomato leaves infected with B.cinerea.