Soil and leaf bacteria together shield poplar trees from fungal blight
Wang D, Li D, Yang Y, Yu J, Liu B
Biocontrol
Poplar trees line city streets, buffer agricultural fields, and anchor riparian corridors across temperate regions, and the same dual-application logic tested here could inform how growers and land managers protect other trees from fungal blights without synthetic fungicides.
Researchers tested whether applying beneficial bacteria to both the soil and the leaves of poplar trees could fight a destructive fungal disease better than either method alone. The combination worked remarkably well: soil application recruited helpful microbes around the roots that kept the tree's defenses primed over time, while the leaf spray kicked the immune system into high gear quickly. The two strategies reinforce each other, giving trees both immediate protection and long-term resilience.
Key Findings
Combined root-drench plus foliar spray reduced the leaf blight disease index by 86.7% compared to untreated controls.
Root-drenching enriched beneficial rhizosphere genera including Rhodanobacter and Apiotrichum, whose abundance correlated positively with leaf defense parameters.
The combined treatment strongly activated both salicylic acid and jasmonic acid immune signaling pathways, with significant upregulation of the pathogenesis-related gene PR-1 and elevated antioxidant enzyme activities.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Combining soil-drench and foliar spray applications of beneficial Bacillus bacteria cut poplar leaf blight disease severity by 86.7% in field trials. The two methods work through distinct but complementary routes: soil application restructures the root-zone microbial community for lasting protection, while foliar spray triggers rapid immune responses in leaves.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Bacillus inhibits poplar leaf blight through coordination of rhizosphere microbiome remodelling and foliar immune activation.
Poplar leaf blight caused by Alternaria alternata represents a major biotic constraint on plantation productivity. Although beneficial Bacillus species are widely used as biocontrol agents, their f...
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Populus is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood.