Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

The potential role of Agarista salicifolia leaf extract to trigger induced resistance, biochemical changes in Ensete ventricosum and the subsequent suppression of Enset bacterial wilt (EBW) was evaluated under field condition. Resistant (Genticha) and susceptible (Midasho) Enset clones were grown in the field and treated with A. salicifolia extract and Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm). The results revealed that treated plants of both clones had an increased activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and greater amount of total phenolics content (TPC) and total soluble sugars (TSS). The activity of tested enzymes and amounts of TPC and TSS were significantly increased in resistant plants treated with leaf extract and Xcm as compared to susceptible ones. The activity of PAL progressively increased in resistant plants treated with the leaf extract. The biochemical changes that occur after the application of treatments imply the onset of induced systemic resistance. Extract induced resistance brought a 33.33% and 3.1% disease incidence reduction in susceptible and resistant plants, respectively, compared to infected controls. The result suggests that induced resistance could be used as a feasible approach to control EBW. However, the need for further studies on other application methods that augment efficacy and scaling up is required.