Seed treatments for the control of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola in organic production of bean: establishing test prerequisites

Summary

Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola cause anthracnose and halo blight, two economically important seed borne diseases of beans. Sanitation of seeds can be an effective mean to reduce and eliminate the presence of the pathogen. However, in organic agriculture, there are only limited seed treatments available, most of them being physical. Biological seed treatments, including three commercial formulations of bacterial and/or fungus consortia and two natural compounds, against Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola in beans were investigated in this study. The research included the evaluation of the inoculation rate of a C. lindemuthianum strain in bean cultivars, the effect of biological seed treatments on the germination of bean seeds, methods of DNA extraction from bean seeds and all other the necessary prerequisites. Obtaining seeds with an adequate infection rate and extracting high-quality DNA from bean seeds have been proved difficult. Our study indicates that several challenges can restrain the development of seed treatments.