Study of the immune response of pepper varieties to infection with the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum
Nataliya Karadzhova, Petar Chavdarov
Abstract: The immune response of pepper varieties grown in greenhouses to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary was studied. Six varieties of Capsicum annuum L. were included in the experiment, of which 5 were Bulgarian (sweet peppers Sivriya, Ivaylovska kapiya, White kapiya, Bulgarian ratund and hot pepper Dzhulyunska shipka) and Pirouette F1 of the Syngenta AG Company. The resistance of pepper varieties to infection with the pathogen S. sclerotiorum was studied using the detached leaf assay (DLA) and detached fruit method. The effect of biological preparations (based on antagonists of Trichoderma viride, Bacillus subtilis and Enterobacter cloaceae) on the immune response of plants to infection with S. sclerotiorum was studied in greenhouse conditions on the pepper variety Pirouette F1. For this purpose, young plants grown against the background of introduced antagonists were infected with the pathogen S. sclerotiorum by decapitation of the stem. The results of the study indicate that the immune response of pepper plants depends on the variety and the biological agents that can cause induced resistance to infection. It has been established that the varieties Ivaylovska kapiya, Sivriya, Dzhulyunska shipka and Pirouette F1 are susceptible to infection by S. sclerotiorum. Susceptibility to the pathogen varies among pepper varieties.
Differences in the immune response of pepper varieties to S. sclerotiorum infection are expressed in the length of the incubation period, frequency of infection, rate of formation and number of sclerotia. The varieties Pirouette F1 and Dzhulyunska shipka have a weaker immune response (the incubation period of the disease is 4 days, infection rate is 31%). The varieties Sivriya (incubation period of the disease is 5 days, infestation 11%) and Ivaylovska kapiya (incubation period of the disease 4 days, infestation 22%) have a good immune response to infection. The formation of sclerotia in hot pepper fruits occurs two days earlier than in other varieties. It was established on the 8th day in this variety, and in other varieties – on the 10th day of infection. The biological products used influence the immune response of pepper to infection with S. sclerotiorum. The least development of stem necrosis was observed in the variant with the biological preparation „Trichodermin“, which was used for watering plants in the form of a liquid preparation with a working solution concentration of 1.1010 c/ml. The results obtained show the variability of disease resistance among popular pepper varieties grown in greenhouse conditions in Bulgaria.
Keywords: biological products; Capsicum annuum L.; resistance; varieties; white mold
Citation: Karadzhova, N. & Chavdarov, P. (2025). Study of the immune response of pepper varieties to infection with the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 31(1), 160–166.
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| Date published: 2025-02-25
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