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Horticulturae
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Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops
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Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Pathology and Disease Management (PPDM)".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4028

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhengnan Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China
Interests: virus diseases of horticultural crops; pathogen identification and detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Baoyu Tian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350108, China
Interests: plant microbiome; plants–parasitic nematodes–microorganisms interaction
Dr. Jianwei Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Agronomy and Life Sciences/Yunnan Urban Agricultural Engineering and Technological Research Center, Kunming University, Kunming 650214, China
Interests: fungal and bacterial diseases of horticultural crops; resistance assessment; pathogenicity differentiation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues，

Infectious plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, and nematodes are serious threats to global horticultural crop production and play an important role in food security. These problems are expected to aggravate in response to the changing climate. Healthy plants are essential for horticulture production systems and the environment, landscapes, and biodiversity. Therefore, plant protection must be practiced without further damaging the environment or human health. Within this scenario, sustainable management of plant diseases is needed to maintain disease levels below economic thresholds by utilizing complementary approaches.

Preventive measures include choosing healthy propagation materials, resistant cultivars and grafting, healthy and suppressive soils, and organic farming strategies. Rapid and reliable diagnosis and identification of pathogens using modern tools help avoid introducing nonindigenous pathogens and help select optimal control techniques. Decision support systems based on forecasting models may predict the spread of pathogens, providing early warnings for the timely control of pathogens. Reducing the utilization of classical chemical pesticides and fertilizers is an important aim in the sustainable management of plant diseases, while biocontrol agents and natural products can provide alternative solutions for satisfactory disease control. In addition, knowledge of the genomic structure, virulence factors, the disease cycle of target pathogens, and their epidemiology is the basis for developing strategies to effectively control horticultural crop diseases. Research articles, reviews, short notes, and opinion articles focused on managing the pathogens of various horticultural commodities (including edible fungi) are welcome to our current Special Issue on “Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops”.

Dr. Zhengnan Li
Dr. Baoyu Tian
Dr. Jianwei Guo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • horticultural crops
  • pathogen diagnosis
  • disease control
  • pathogen life cycle
  • epidemiology
  • advanced tools and methods

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2427 KiB  
Article
The Status of Esca Disease and the Disinfection of the Scion Prior to Grafting Affect the Phenolic Composition and Phenylpropanoid-Related Enzymes in the Callus of Vine Hetero-Grafts
by Saša Krošelj, Maja Mikulic-Petkovsek, Matevž Likar, Andreja Škvarč, Heidi Halbwirth, Katerina Biniari and Denis Rusjan
Horticulturae 2025, 11(4), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11040371 - 30 Mar 2025
Viewed by 259
Abstract
Vegetative propagation of European grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) requires grafting onto American rootstocks due to susceptibility to phylloxera. However, the grafting yield is compromised by the presence of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) such as Esca. This study investigates the phenolic response and [...] Read more.
Vegetative propagation of European grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) requires grafting onto American rootstocks due to susceptibility to phylloxera. However, the grafting yield is compromised by the presence of grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) such as Esca. This study investigates the phenolic response and enzyme activity in grapevine callus from grafts obtained by scions with different GTD status (healthy, asymptomatic, and symptomatic) treated with different disinfection methods (Beltanol, Beltanol in combination with thermotherapy, Serenade® ASO, Remedier, BioAction ES, and sodium bicarbonate). Twenty-three phenolic compounds were identified in the graft callus, with flavanols, stilbenes, and condensed tannins predominating. Scion disinfection with BioAction ES led to a significant increase in total phenolic content in the callus, especially in symptomatic scions, for on average 510.3 µg/g fresh weight (FW) higher total phenolic content, compared to grafts where scions were treated with Beltanol. Phenolics such as epicatechin gallate, procyanidin derivatives, and resveratrol hexoside were significantly increased, indicating a strong elicitor effect of BioAction ES. Enzymatic activity analysis showed that the disinfection methods affected the activity of key enzymes involved in the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway. In particular, BioAction ES significantly increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity in callus from grafts with healthy scions by 3.4-fold and flavanone 3β-hydroxylase (FHT) activity in callus from grafts with infected scions by 4.9-fold (asymptomatic) and 6.9-fold (symptomatic) compared to callus from grafts with Beltanol-treated scions. The results highlight the potential of environmentally friendly disinfection methods, particularly BioAction ES, in influencing phenolic content and enzymatic activity in graft callus, potentially affecting the success of grapevine grafting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops)
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12 pages, 3743 KiB  
Article
Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity Analysis of Alternaria alternata Associated with Leaf Spot Disease of Toona sinensis in China
by Xiansheng Geng, Huyun Mvchir, Jun Liu, Keda Hua, Qiang Miao and Jinping Shu
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030279 - 5 Mar 2025
Viewed by 562
Abstract
The tree species Toona sinensis has been cultivated in China for over 2000 years for multiple purposes. In 2022, leaf spots were detected on the leaves of T. sinensis in a germplasm resource nursery in Zhejiang Province, China. Symptomatic leaves were collected, and [...] Read more.
The tree species Toona sinensis has been cultivated in China for over 2000 years for multiple purposes. In 2022, leaf spots were detected on the leaves of T. sinensis in a germplasm resource nursery in Zhejiang Province, China. Symptomatic leaves were collected, and fungal isolation was conducted. Four fungal isolates resembling Alternaria were isolated from the diseased leaves. These isolates were identified as Alternaria alternata according to a combination of morphological characteristics and multigene phylogenetic analysis. To fulfill Koch’s postulates, the pathogenicity of the selected isolate, YKHH, was tested on 2-year-old container seedlings of T. sinensis. Disease symptoms basically consistent with those observed in the field developed 12 days after inoculation (DAI) when either conidia or mycelia were used as the inoculum. Nevertheless, no visible symptoms developed on the leaves of the control groups. The fungi were reisolated from the diseased leaves, and both the morphological characteristics and three gene sequences (GAPDH, RPB2, and TEF1-α) of the reisolated fungi were consistent with those of the original YKHH isolate. Susceptibility trial results showed that family 55 of T. sinensis (F55) had the highest susceptibility to A. alternata, while family 28 of T. sinensis (F28), family 52 of T. sinensis (F52), and Toona ciliata var. pubescens (TCP) exhibited equal susceptibility to A. alternata. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of leaf spot disease caused by A. alternata on T. sinensis in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops)
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12 pages, 1470 KiB  
Article
Effects and Inhibition Mechanism of Indole-3-Carboxaldehyde in Controlling Scutellaria baicalensis Root Rot
by Li Wang, Xin Guo and Lirong Han
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030263 - 1 Mar 2025
Viewed by 414
Abstract
Scutellaria baicalensis Gorg is a medicinal herb of significant value in traditional Chinese medicine. Root rot is a major issue in S. baicalensis-producing areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether indole-3-carboxaldehyde, a metabolite derived from Purpureocillium lilacinum, has [...] Read more.
Scutellaria baicalensis Gorg is a medicinal herb of significant value in traditional Chinese medicine. Root rot is a major issue in S. baicalensis-producing areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether indole-3-carboxaldehyde, a metabolite derived from Purpureocillium lilacinum, has a significant effect on Fusarium solani (one of the main pathogenic fungi causing S. baicalensis root rot), and to clarify its antifungal mechanism. We evaluated the toxicity of indole-3-carboxaldehyde to F. solani using the growth rate assay and found that the EC50 value was 59.563 μg/mL; we also performed additional pot experiments under greenhouse conditions. The effects of indole-3-carboxaldehyde on fungal hyphal morphology and ultrastructure were evaluated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Indole-3-carboxaldehyde was found to induce the disintegration of the mitochondrial double membrane in F. solani, as well as cause cell wall separation. Further probing into the effects of indole-3-carboxaldehyde on mitochondrial aspects was conducted using enzyme activity test kits and real-time quantitative PCR. The findings indicated that indole-3-carboxaldehyde decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential; reduces the activities of SOD, CAT, POD, and GR enzymes; and hampers the growth of F. solani by suppressing the activity of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I, resulting in H2O2 accumulation. This disruption of the mitochondrial antioxidant pathway impedes the effective clearance of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ultimately leading to the death of F. solani. Future studies of indole-3-carboxaldehyde should focus on its effect on metabolic pathways, which could facilitate the development of innovative pesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops)
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14 pages, 1917 KiB  
Article
Carrier-Based Application of RsPod1EGY Phage to Effective Control Potato Bacterial Wilt
by Kamel M. Elhalag, Yasser S. A. Mazrou, Abdelnaser A. Elzaawely, Abeer H. Makhlouf, Sherine A. Elsaed, Hanafey F. Maswada, Tran Dang Xuan and Asmaa El-Nagar
Horticulturae 2025, 11(3), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11030257 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1307
Abstract
Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, poses a significant threat to Solanaceae crops, including potatoes. Traditionally, chemical bactericides have been the primary method of disease management. However, the excessive and repeated use of these chemicals has led to the emergence of resistant [...] Read more.
Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, poses a significant threat to Solanaceae crops, including potatoes. Traditionally, chemical bactericides have been the primary method of disease management. However, the excessive and repeated use of these chemicals has led to the emergence of resistant R. solanacearum strains and raised environmental and safety concerns. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore bacteriophages as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to chemical control. Specifically, we evaluated the efficacy of the bacteriophage RsPod1EGY as a biocontrol agent under greenhouse conditions to reduce disease severity and maintain potato productivity. To improve phage survival and activity, we tested six carrier types; compost, peat moss, clay soil, sandy soil, talc powder, and wheat bran. Our findings indicated that compost, talc powder, and wheat bran significantly prolonged the phage’s viability and activity, reducing disease severity by 90%, compared to 65% and 85% for peat moss and phage-alone treatments respectively. In contrast, pathogen control treatments resulted in complete plant mortality. Phage survival was enhanced in pathogen-infected soils, supporting its role in reducing R. solanacearum populations. Potato yield was preserved in compost and talc powder treatments comparable to pathogen-free controls. These results underscore the potential of integrating bacteriophage RsPod1EGY with suitable carriers for sustainable bacterial wilt management, highlighting the importance of delivery methods in agricultural applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops)
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10 pages, 2191 KiB  
Communication
Occurrence of Pestalotiopsis sp. on Ornamental Plants Camellia japonica L. in Romanian Public Gardens
by Andreea-Mihaela Florea, Andrei-Mihai Gafencu, Florin-Daniel Lipșa, Iulian Gabur and Eugen Ulea
Horticulturae 2025, 11(1), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11010093 - 15 Jan 2025
Viewed by 961
Abstract
Camellias are evergreen shrubs native to the eastern and southern regions of Asia. In Romania, camellias are popular ornamental plants grown in pots. Pestalotiopsis species have a worldwide distribution and are pathogenic to a wide range of hosts. They also represent an [...] Read more.
Camellias are evergreen shrubs native to the eastern and southern regions of Asia. In Romania, camellias are popular ornamental plants grown in pots. Pestalotiopsis species have a worldwide distribution and are pathogenic to a wide range of hosts. They also represent an important group of endophytes capable of producing a variety of bioactive secondary metabolites. This paper reports the occurrence of grey blight and twig or branch dieback caused by Pestalotiopsis sp. on Camellia japonica L. grown in pots and used in the landscaping of a public garden located in Iasi city, Romania (GPS coordinates: 47°09′24.0″ N 27°35′15.6″ E). Pestalotiopsis species were identified based on morphological characteristics and Sanger sequencing. Genomic analysis of the fungal isolate coded P_CJ_24, obtained from living plants, was based on ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region amplification using the LSU primers. This first report of Pestalotiopsis species infection of ornamental plants in Romania suggests that new plant pathogens can be introduced in new environmental conditions through plant pods and their incidence increases with the widespread of plant material among gardens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Pathogens in Horticultural Crops)
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