Evaluation of the Physicochemical Properties of Chitosans in Inducing the Defense Response of Coffea arabica against the Fungus Hemileia vastatrix

Abstract

Chitosan is a natural polymer, and its biological properties depend on factors such as the degree of deacetylation and polymerization, viscosity, molecular mass, and dissociation constant. Chitosan has multiple advantages: it is biodegradable, biocompatible, safe, inexpensive, and non-toxic. Due to these characteristics, it has a wide range of applications. In agriculture, one of the most promising properties of chitosan is as an elicitor in plant defense against pathogenic microorganisms. In this work, four kinds of chitosan (practical grade, low molecular weight, medium molecular weight, and high-density commercial food grade) were used in concentrations of 0.01 and 0.05% to evaluate its protective effect against coffee rust. The best treatment was chosen to evaluate the defense response in coffee plants. The results showed a protective effect using practical-grade and commercial food-grade chitosan. In addition, the activity of enzymes with β-1,3 glucanase and peroxidase was induced, and an increase in the amount of phenolic compounds was observed in plants treated with high-molecular-weight chitosan at 0.05%; therefore, chitosan can be considered an effective molecule for controlling coffee rust.

Effects of chitin and chitosan on root growth, biochemical defense response and exudate proteome ofCannabis sativa

“…On the other hand, enhanced defense responses as observed from chitosan treatments have confirmed its eliciting properties (Chandra et al ., 2017a; Lopez-Moya et al ., 2021; López-Velázquez et al ., 2021). As summarized in Fig.…”

The coffee leaf rust pandemic: An ever‐present danger to coffee production

“…Other fungal BCAs known to be effective against CLR include Calonectria hemileiae , Mycodiplosis hemileiae and Trichoderma harzianum (López‐Velázquez et al., 2021; Nicoletti & Becchimanzi, 2020; Ramírez‐Rodríguez et al., 2020; Salcedo‐Sarmiento et al., 2021). Bacterial BCAs that have been trialled include Bacillus cereus , Bacillus lentimorbus , Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas spp.…”

“…Other fungal BCAs known to be effective against CLR include Calonectria hemileiae, Mycodiplosis hemileiae and Trichoderma harzianum (López-Velázquez et al, 2021;Nicoletti & Becchimanzi, 2020;Ramírez-Rodríguez et al, 2020;Salcedo-Sarmiento et al, 2021).…”

Alternative plant protection strategies for tomorrow's coffee

“…arabica when applied as a foliar spray and then challenged with H . vastatrix spores a week later (López‐Velázquez et al, 2021). While this is not considered biological control in the strict definition (Stenberg et al, 2021), it is commercially available, biodegradable, inexpensive and nontoxic.…”

“…Another predator is the mite Ricoseius loxocheles, which exhibits a diverse diet in which H. vastatrix uredinospores feature as seasonal food choice in the coffee field (Ajila et al, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2014) et al, 2020). Finally, the naturally derived polymer chitosan has recently been found to induce defence responses in C. arabica when applied as a foliar spray and then challenged with H. vastatrix spores a week later (López-Velázquez et al, 2021). While this is not considered biological control in the strict definition (Stenberg et al, 2021), it is commercially available, biodegradable, inexpensive and nontoxic.…”