A multiple-pathogen system for bioherbicidal control of several weeds

A novel system using four host-specific fungal plant pathogens applied in a single, postemergent spray to control pigweed, sicklepod, and showy crotalaria was tested under greenhouse conditions. The four pathogens were Phomopsis amaranthicola (a pathogen of pigweed species), Alternaria cassiae (a pathogen of sicklepod and showy crotalaria), Colletotrichum dematium f. sp. crotalariae and Fusarium udum f. sp. crotalariae (pathogens of showy crotalaria). Spore suspensions of each pathogen alone (10(6) spores mL(-1)) or a mixture of the four pathogens (1:1:1:1, v/v, 2.5 x 10(5) spores mL(-1) of each pathogen, total 10(6) spores mL(-1)) were tested on four- to six-leaf stage seedlings of the three weed species grown together in pots. One week after inoculation (WAI), all sicklepod and showy crotalaria seedlings were killed, and all pigweed seedlings were killed by 6 WAI when inoculated with their respective pathogen(s) alone or a mixture of the pathogens. None of the weeds inoculated with the root-infecting pathogen F. udum developed wilt disease by the time the experiment was completed (6WAI). The results demonstrate the feasibility to control three weeds simultaneously with different fungi without loss of efficacy or alterations in host-specificity of each fungus in the given mixture. Scanning electron microscopy showed visual differences in the appearance or germination and further development of conidia of each pathogen on its respective host leaf surface compared to nonhost leaf surfaces, whether the pathogen was applied alone or in a mixture with the other pathogens studied. Application of several host-specific fungal pathogens in a bioherbicide mixture as a multi-component bioherbicide system may be advantageous for further development of simultaneous, broad-spectrum weed control.