Microbial Battling of Fire Blight Disease on Pome Fruits

Baştaş, Kubilay Kurtuluş; Baysal, Ömür

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-87289-2_8

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 73 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…An additional facet of fire blight management that makes it particularly amenable to study its impacts on pollinators is that there are non-antibiotic alternatives (Kurtulus Bastas et al, 2022), which allow for field contrasts with antibiotic use. In particular, the antagonist yeast Aureobasidium pullulans (Johnson et al, 2022; Ngugi et al, 2011; Sundin et al, 2009)—which has been adopted in commercial orchards with both conventional and organic management—is one common biological control method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a field-sprayed antibiotic on bee foraging behavior and pollination in pear orchards

Avila

McCullough

Schiffer

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Broadcast spraying of antibiotics in crops is widely used for controlling bacterial plant pathogens. The effects of antibiotics on non-target (and especially beneficial) organisms in cropping systems, however, are not well studied. Pollinators are of particular concern because in pear and apple crops, antibiotics for controlling fire blight (Erwinia amylovora) are sprayed during bloom, likely exposing pollinators. This is especially relevant as laboratory evidence suggests that antibiotics could have sublethal effects on bee foraging behavior, pollination efficacy, and colony health. But to our knowledge these potential impacts have not been studied in field settings. Here, we compared the effects of two fire blight control methods, a single spray of an antibiotic (oxytetracycline) and a biological antagonist (Aureobasidium pullulans), on honey bee (Apis mellifera) foraging, pollination, and fruit set in pear orchards. Complementing these field assessments, we conducted laboratory experiments to examine the effects of these treatments on locomotion and foraging behavior of the bumble bee species, Bombus vosnesenskii. We found that honey bees visited fewer flowers and foraged longer on each flower in orchards sprayed with antibiotics than with biological product, but there were no differences in pollination and seed set. The pear cultivars we worked in, however, can self-pollinate. In the lab, we found that feeding on high doses of either the antibiotic or the biological antagonist reduced bumble bee foraging behavior relative to controls. The limited impact of antibiotics on pear pollination observed in this study suggest that antibiotics pose a low economic risk to pear growers, especially for self-compatible cultivars. Still, crops with higher pollinator dependence may be more affected by reductions in pollinator visitation. Future studies should examine the impacts of multiple antibiotic sprays within a season, which are common during warm springs, and their long-term health impacts on both individual bees and colonies.

show abstract