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Cut rose (Rosa hybrida L.) flowers placed in water often wilt prematurely, which is partially due to bacterial accumulation in the stems. Bacterial strains in the stems are mainly pseudomonads and enterobacteria. The possible sources of these organisms were investigated in `Sweet Promise' (trade name Sonia) roses. No bacteria were found in the xylem of intact plants. Cutting the stems with sterile secateurs introduced no bacteria at the cut surface or the stem interior, but cutting with nonsterile secateurs used by rose growers did. The secateurs sampled at rose growers contained Enterobacter agglomerans along with several other bacteria not found inside the xylem of cut flowers but did not contain pseudomonads. Although the plant surface may contain bacteria, freshly cut stems placed in water introduced no bacteria. Bacteria rapidly developed on the cut surface and inside the water-conducting elements when rose stems were placed in tap water, even when the stems had been surface-sterilized. However, there were no bacteria in vase water when the water and the stem surface had been sterilized. Since the stem and the secateurs are not a main source of bacteria inside stems and tap water contains pseudomonads and Enterobacter spp., we conclude that tap water is the main source of the bacteria inside cut rose stems.
effective to mitigate stress damages. Some plant growth–promoting bacteria (PGPB) such as B. phytofirmans and B. gladioli contain deaminase enzymes that use ACC as a nitrogen source, breaking down ACC and reducing ACC availability for ethylene synthesis
Autotrophic nitrifying organisms were enumerated in soilless potting media using the most probable number (MPN) technique. Populations of NH4 + and NO2 - oxidizing organisms varied widely between two soilless media—Metro-Mix 220 and 350. Estimates for NH4 + oxidizing organisms ranged from 0.7 to 7.8 × 105 organisms/cm3, while NO2 - oxidizers ranged from 1.3 to 9.5 × 105 organisms/cm3. Population numbers were similar to those typically reported in soils. There was a significant effect of medium type, NH4 + N : NO3 - N fertilizer ratio, and planting on MPN counts of both groups of organisms, with significant interaction between several of the factors. Estimates of NH4 + oxidizers were not linearly correlated with NH4 + oxidizing activity, implying low counting efficiency, heterotrophic nitrification, or rate-limiting substrate NH4 + level. In a separate study, a soilless potting medium was inoculated with pure cultures of either Nitrosomonas europaea or Nitrobacter agilis. Rates of NH4 + and NO2 - oxidation increased, respectively, as inoculum volume increased. Inoculation with nitrifying bacteria may help in the overall management of N in the rhizosphere and be feasible alternatives for the prevention of either NH4 + or NO2 - phytotoxicity with fertilizers containing urea or NH4 +.
Including bacteria in the vase water of cut Gerbera jamesonii Bolus flowers resulted in an increase in scape curvature depending on the concentration of bacteria in the water, cultivar, and season. In the summer, a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or a mixed population of bacterial species, all isolated from the vase water of cut gerbera flowers, resulted in curvature of >90° in `Liesbeth' at 108 cfu/ml and in `Mickey' at 1010 cfu/ml. In winter, the lowest bacterial concentrations that resulted in such bending were 106 and 108 cfu/ml, respectively. `Mickey' showed bending at a lower water potential than `Liesbeth'. Comparison between these results and the bacterial counts in vase water and water at retail shops indicates that frequently observed scape bending is at least partly due to bacteria.
In 1993, ice-nucleation-active (INA) bacteria were isolated from `Redwing' red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L. var. idaeus) at five pigmentation stages. Fruit were also subjected to thermal analysis to determine the ice nucleation temperatures. INA bacteria were recovered from nearly all fruit samples, and the bacterial populations tended to decrease with greater red color development (i.e., fruit maturation). However, the ice nucleation temperature was not affected by the stage of fruit pigmentation. In 1994, INA bacterial densities were similar among fruit at the three pigmentation stages sampled. INA bacteria were recovered more often from the calyx rather than the drupe surface of these fruit. INA bacteria also were detected on pistils of some fruit. Red and pink fruit, which were nucleated with ice, had greater receptacle injury than mottled, yellow, or green fruit, but INA bacterial densities apparently were not related to injury. Thus, the injury response of fruit at different pigmentation (or development) stages indicated that nonbacterial ice nuclei may be involved in freezing injury of developing raspberries.
INA bacteria were isolated from primary flowers of `Totem' strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) plants that had been previously inoculated with strain Cit 7 of Pseudomonas syringae van Hall or noninoculated to determine their relationship to ice-nucleation temperature and floral injury. Mean ice-nucleation temperature of inoculated and noninoculated flowers was -2.2 and -2.8 °C, respectively. Primary flowers of noninoculated plants survived lower temperatures than those of inoculated plants. In another experiment, noninoculated plants were misted with sterile deionized water and incubated for 0, 12, 24, 36, or 48 hours at 25 °C day/10 °C night, and naturally occurring INA bacteria were isolated from primary flowers. INA bacterial densities increased exponentially with increasing incubation period. The critical wetness period for INA bacteria to establish a sufficient density to increase the likelihood of floral injury at -2.5 °C was 24 hours. Longer wetness periods resulted in higher INA bacterial densities but did not increase the floral mortality rate. Thermal analysis demonstrated that the ice nucleation temperature was associated with strawberry floral injury. Thus, low temperature survival of flowers was adversely affected by moisture for ≥24 h due to the presence of a sufficient density of INA bacteria to incite ice formation and floral injury.
Stems of cut rose flowers (Rosa hybrids L., cvs. Sonia, Ilona, Polka, and Frisco) were held in a sodium hypochlorite solution and then placed in distilled water or in a buffer at pH 6.0. After 2 days, many bacteria were found in the basal end of the stems, even when the number of bacteria in the water was below the detection limit. The hydraulic conductance of 5-cm stem segments was reduced whenever the number of bacteria exceeded =106 cfu/g fresh weight. Adding HQC or a buffer at pH 3.0 limited the number of bacteria in stems. Hydraulic conductance of the stems held in these solutions for 2 days was as in stems of freshly harvested flowers. Thus, HQC and low pH prevent vascular blockage by reducing the number of bacteria in the stems. No evidence was found for the hypothesis that HQC and low pH inhibit a stem-induced vascular blockage.
Seeds of `Berken' mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilcz.] were surface-sterilized with NaOCl and then either aerated 24 hours before sowing (routine procedure), planted immediately after the NaOCl treatment, or treated with hot cupric acetate and antibiotics before planting. Nine- or 10-day-old seedlings were used in rooting bioassays. Up to 10% of the seedlings and 17% of the cuttings had collapsed upper stems or wilted leaves. None of the seed treatments completely eliminated the pathogen, but the combination of hot cupric acetate plus antibiotics reduced the quantity of diseased cuttings to 3.3%. A white and two yellow-pigmented (Y1 and Y2) bacteria were isolated from diseased cuttings and used in subsequent pathogenicity tests. The Y2 strain was nonpathogenic. Stems of plants inoculated with the white strain turned brown and collapsed 2 days after inoculation, whereas leaves of plants inoculated with the Y1 strain wilted after 7 days. Electron microscopy, fatty acid analysis, and standard biochemical and physiological tests were used to identify the white strain as Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae van Hall and the Y1 strain as Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens ssp. flaccumfaciens (Hedges) Collins and Jones. These results emphasize that seeds of mung bean should be checked for seedborne pathogens to avoid experimental artifacts.
Mineralization of N from nonviable cells of Brevibacterium lactofermentum (Okumura et al.) mixed into soilless substrate in elution columns occurred largely during the first 5 weeks with a peak between 2 and 3 weeks. Over a 12-week period, 73% of the total N was recovered in the eluent. To prolong the period of N release to meet the requirements of a slow-release fertilizer, the bacterium was bonded to kraft lignin, a polyphenolic substance highly resistant to degradation. To retard mineralization further, the bacterium-lignin mixture was reacted with formaldehyde to form amino cross-links within and between protein chains. Bonding to lignin was undesirable because N release occurred during the same period as from the bacteria unbound to lignin and the total amount of N recovered was reduced to only 42%. Cross-linking with formaldehyde was less desirable since N was released mainly during the first 4 weeks with a peak during the first elution (0 time) and the total amount of N released was even lower than for the bacterium-lignin mixture. Additions of urea to the latter reaction did not satisfactorily improve subsequent N mineralization. In a second set of treatments lignin was withheld and the bacterium was reacted with weights of formaldehyde (a.i.) equivalent to 0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 5.0%, and 10.0% of the dry weight of bacterium. Formaldehyde quantities ≤1.0% either had no effect or lowered the mineralization of N without altering time of release. Five percent and 10% formaldehyde successfully reduced release of N during the first 4 weeks and increased it thereafter. The best rate was 5%. In this treatment N was released from week 2 through the end of the test (12 weeks). Peak release occurred at 6 weeks. This resulting N source, while not a stand alone product, does have a slow-release property that could lend itself to use in combination with other slow-release N sources.
Abstract
Epiphytic populations of ice nucleation active (INA) strains of Pseudomonas syringae van Hall of up to 106cells/g fresh weight were found on healthy tissues of commercially managed almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] orchards in California. Leaf bacteria accounted for over 99% of the ice nuclei active at temperatures higher than − 5°C on almond. Large, seasonal variations in populations of INA bacteria and ice nuclei on almond were observed, with maximum populations found shortly after full bloom. These populations were reduced from 10- to 100-fold by 3 weekly applications of bactericides starting at budbreak, or a single application at 10% bloom of a nonice nucleation active antagonistic bacterium isolated from an almond leaf surface. Applications of cupric hydroxide to dormant tissues and/or to growing tissue after budbreak were most effective at reducing populations of INA bacteria and ice nuclei on almond. Application of bacterial ice nucleation inhibitors did not influence populations of INA bacteria on almond shoots shortly after application, but reduced the numbers of ice nuclei active at −5° or warmer. Frost injury to detached almond spurs cooled to −3° was reduced by all treatments that reduced the numbers of bacterial ice nuclei on almond tissue.