Apple Replant Disease: Causes and Mitigation Strategies

Winkelmann, Traud; Smalla, Kornelia; Amelung, Wulf; Baab, Gerhard; Grunewaldt-Stöcker, Gisela; Kanfra, Xorla; Meyhöfer, Rainer; Reim, Stefanie; Schmitz, Michaela; Vetterlein, Doris; Wrede, Andreas; Zühlke, Sebastian; Grunewaldt, J.; Weiss, S. A.; Schloter, Michael

doi:10.21775/cimb.030.089

Cited by 95 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…Apple replant disease (ARD) is a phenomenon that has been mostly observed in areas where apple plants or closely related species of the family of Rosaceae have been repeatedly cultivated [1][2][3]. The disease is characterized by uneven growth throughout the orchard as well as the presence of shorter internodes and stunted growth of trees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced microbial potential for the degradation of phenolic compounds in the rhizosphere of apple plantlets grown in soils affected by replant disease

Radl

Winkler

Kublik

et al. 2019

Environmental Microbiome

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Background: Apple replant disease (ARD) is a syndrome that occurs in areas where apple plants or closely related species have been previously cultivated. Even though ARD is a well-known phenomenon, which has been observed in different regions worldwide and occurs independent of the soil type, its causes still remain unclear. Results: As expected, the biomass of plants grown in replant soil was significantly lower compared to those grown in control (virgin) soil. A shotgun metagenome analysis showed a clear differentiation between the rhizosphere and bulk soil compartments independent from the soil used. However, significant differences associated with apple replant disease were only observed in the rhizosphere compartment, for which we detected changes in the abundance of major bacterial genera. Interestingly, reads assigned to Actinobacteria were significantly reduced in relative abundance in rhizosphere samples of the soil affected by replant disease. Even though reads assigned to pathogenic fungi were detected, their relative abundance was low and did not differ significantly between the two different soils. Differences in microbiome structure also resulted in shifts in functional pattern. We observed an increase in genes related to stress sensing in the rhizosphere of soils affected by replant disease, whereas genes linked to nutrient sensing and uptake dominated in control soils. Moreover, we observed a lower abundance of genes coding for enzymes which trigger the degradation of aromatic compounds in rhizosphere of soils affected by replant disease, which is probably connected with higher concentration of phenolic compounds, generally associated with disease progression. Conclusions: Our study shows, for the first time, how apple replanting affects soil functioning by altering the soil microbiome. Particularly, the decrease in the abundance of genes which code for enzymes catalyzing the degradation of aromatic compounds, observed in the rhizosphere of plants grown in soil affected by apple replant disease, is of interest. Apple rootstocks are known to synthetize many phenolic compounds, including defense related phytoalexins, which have been considered for long to be connected with the emergence of replant disease. The knowledge gained in this study might help to develop targeted strategies to overcome or at least reduce the effects of ARD symptoms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced microbial potential for the degradation of phenolic compounds in the rhizosphere of apple plantlets grown in soils affected by replant disease

Radl

Winkler

Kublik

et al. 2019

Environmental Microbiome

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“…Since partial or full soil disinfection can restore plant growth in most cases, biological living agents are the most likely cause of replant problems. According to Winkelmann et al [2], replant disease is "the harmfully disturbed physiological and morphological reaction of plants to soils that faced alterations in their (micro-) biome due to the previous cultures of the same or related species." This definition implies the previous culture as the starting point of replant disease, which affects the soil microbial and mesofauna communities by root exudates or rhizodeposits and decomposition of plant parts.…”

Section: The Replant Disease Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This definition implies the previous culture as the starting point of replant disease, which affects the soil microbial and mesofauna communities by root exudates or rhizodeposits and decomposition of plant parts. Thus, replant disease can be classified as negative plant-soil feedback [3] and is mainly due to microbial dysbiosis [2].…”

Section: The Replant Disease Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Replant disease has been reported for many horticultural and forestry crops, being especially pronounced in fruit orchards with apple [2,4], peach [5,6] and cherry [7,8], but also affecting roses [9,10], grapevine [11,12], asparagus [13], medicinal plants like Rehmannia glutinosa [14], and several forestry tree species [15].…”

Section: The Replant Disease Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The etiology and definite causes of replant disease are still not fully understood. It is considered as a disease complex and is strongly influenced by the plant species and genotype as well as by soil properties including soil texture, pH, organic matter content, and aeration or water saturation [2]. The plant as the initiator of replant disease suggests that autotoxicity is involved.…”

Section: The Replant Disease Syndromementioning

confidence: 99%

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Biofumigation for Fighting Replant Disease- A Review

Hanschen

Winkelmann

2020

Agronomy

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Replant disease is a soil (micro-) biome-based, harmfully-disturbed physiological and morphological reaction of plants to replanting similar cultures on the same sites by demonstrating growth retardation and leading to economic losses especially in Rosaceae plant production. Commonly, replant disease is overcome by soil fumigation with toxic chemicals. With chemical soil fumigation being restricted in many countries, other strategies are needed. Biofumigation, which is characterized by the incorporation of Brassicaceae plant materials into soil, is a promising method. We review the potential of biofumigation in the fight against replant disease. Biofumigation using optimized Brassicaceae seed meal compositions in combination with replant disease tolerant plant genotypes shows promising results, but the efficacy is still soil and site-dependent. Therefore, future studies should address the optimal timing as well as amount and type of incorporated plant material and environmental conditions during incubation in dependence of the soil physical and chemical characteristics.

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