Enhancement of verticillium wilt resistance in tomato transplants by in vitro co-culture of seedlings with a plant growth promoting rhizobacterium (Pseudomonas sp. strain PsJN)

The potential utilization of a plant growth promoting rhizobacterium, Pseudomonas sp, strain PsJN, to enhance the resistance of tomato transplants to verticillium wilt was investigated. Plant growth and disease development were tested on the disease-susceptible cultivar Bonny Best after Verticillium dahliae infection of tissue culture plantlets bacterized in vitro (by co-culturing with the bacterium) and seedlings bacterized in vivo (after 3 weeks growth in the greenhouse). Significant differences in both disease suppression and plant growth were obtained between in vitro bacterized and nonbacterized (control) plants. The degree of protection afforded by in vitro bacterization depended on the inoculum density of V. dahliae; the best and worst protection occurred at the lowest (10(3) conidia.ml(-1)) and highest (10(6) conidia.ml(-1)) levels, respectively. In contrast, the in vivo bacterized tomatoes did not show plant growth promotion when compared to the nonbacterized control plants. When challenged with Verticillium, significant growth differences between in vivo bacterized plants (26.8% for shoot height) and nonbacterized controls were only seen at the 3rd week after inoculation. Compared with the in vitro inoculation, there was no delay in the verticillium wilt symptom expression, even at the lowest concentration of V, dahliae, by in vivo PsJN inoculation. These results suggest that endophytic colonization of tomato tissues is required for the Verticillium-resistance responses. Plant growth promotion preceeds the disease-resistance responses and may depend on the colonization thresholds and subsequent sensitization of hosts.