THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF PLANT PROTECTION ON THE HEALTHINESS OF AMERICAN GINSENG

Alina Pastucha¹, Barbara Kołodziej^2
1 Department of Phytopathology, Agricultural University of Lublin, Poland
² Department of Industrial and Medicinal Plants, Agricultural University of Lublin, Poland

ABSTRACT

Studies were conducted in the years 2004-2006 on American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) plantation situated on sandy-clay soil. The experiment concerned a comparison of results of the mycological analysis of diseased ginseng plants from the objects with different methods of plant protection from infection factors. The mycological analysis showed that pathogenic fungi were most frequently isolated from ginseng plants taken from the control combination. The least quantity of pathogens was obtained from the plants taken from the combination with the chemical protection, i.e. Alkalin 10:20 and Alkalin 10:20 together with fungicides. Pathogenic fungi that were most frequently isolated from the infected parts of ginseng includes the following: Altenaria alternata, Fusarium spp., Cylindrocarpon destructans, Pythium irregulare, Phytophthora sp. and Rhizoctonia solani.

Key words: American ginseng, Panax quinquefolium L., biopreparations, fungicides.

INTRODUCTION

Medicines of plant origin have been the basis of alternative medicine for centuries. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) finds wide application both in phytotherapy and in cosmetic industry. The raw material of this plant is its root, containing ginsenosides as the main biologically active compounds [2,3]. In the natural conditions this plant occurs in mixed forests of the south-eastern part of North America, whereas in Europe it was introduced about 100 years ago. Nowadays it is cultivated in the USA, Canada, Australia, Holland, England and Poland [3].

Considering the growing demand for this herbal raw material and decreasing natural resources of ginseng in recent years, a technology of its cultivation has been developed lately.

Successively increasing cultivation area of this plant requires from the planters that the obtained raw material used in medicine should be of good quality, both in respect of its chemical composition and the plants' healthiness.

It follows from the literature that both in the countries of North America and in Europe, where ginseng is cultivated on a large scale, fungi from genera Altenaria, Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium, Phytophtora and Pythium pose a great threat to the plants of the discussed species. They are the main cause of the decrease of the yields and the quality of the raw material [5,10,12,13,19].

The purpose of the present paper was to determine the species composition of fungi infecting ginseng plants with the use of different methods of plant protection.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The studies were conducted in the years 2004-2006 on American ginseng plantation situated on the soil with the composition of loamy lightly silty sand in Krasnystaw (Lublin province). Before setting the experiment, rye had been sown in autumn of 2002 and it was ploughed over at he beginning of May, next mustard and buckwheat were successively sown, and they were ploughed over in autumn, too. The stratified ginseng seeds were sown at the end of October 2003 on patches elevated to the height of 30 cm with the width of 120 and the spacing of 15×3 cm. Phosphorus (100 kg P·ha^-1) and potassium (160 kg K·ha^-1) fertilization was applied before the seed sowing, whereas nitrogen (40 kg N·ha^-1) and magnesium (20 kg Mg·ha^-1) fertilization was used in early spring of each year. After the seeds sowing the plots were covered with a 2.5 cm layer of oat straw, which was changed every spring. Before the vegetation of plants started, the plantation was shaded with a polypropylene net hung on a metal construction at the height of 2 m letting in about 25% of the sun rays.

The experiment was established using the method of complete randomization, in three replications on the plots of the area of 2.4 m². The experiment considered six methods of protecting the plants from diseases, namely:

A – control object (without any plant protection treatments); B – the application of Alkalin 10:20 – foliar fertilizer with high pH – 11.5, containing 10% P₂O₅ and 20% K₂O; every year in the form of a double treatment with the concentration of 0.33%; C – the application of biopreparations recommended in ecological agriculture (alternately, every 7 days – Biochikol 020 PC (2.5%), Biosept 33 SL (0.2%), Bioczos BR, Miedzian Champion 50 WP (0.25%); D – joint application of Alkalin 10:20 (like in object B) and biopreparations recommended in ecological agriculture (like in object C): E – the use of fungicides recommended on production plantations according to Anon [1], i.e. alternate spraying on average every 10 days with preparations Bravo 500 SC (0.2%), Tribenox 330 FS (0.08%), Alliette (0.1%), Dithane M-45 (0.1%), Ridomil MZ 72 WP (0.1%), Antracol 70 WP (0.1%), Rowral Flo 225 SC (0.1%) – totally 13 sprayings in the vegetation season; F – the application of Alkalin 10:20 (like in object B) and fungicides (alternately, every 15 days, totally 9 treatments in the vegetation season).

Every year at full vegetation (the second 10-days’ period of July) 5 plants with disease symptoms were sampled from each of the experimental objects (photo 1), the aim of which was to conduct a mycological analysis. This analysis was performed according to the method described by Pięta and Berbeć [14].

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As a result of a three-year-long mycological analysis of ginseng plants, totally 645 colonies of fungi belonging to 27 different species were isolated from particular experimental combinations (Table 1). More than half of the obtained colonies were isolated from the infected roots of this plant, and slightly less from the stem base. The mycological analysis showed that the most fungi colonies were isolated from the examined parts of ginseng in the control combination where Alkalin 10:20 was used, or where Alkalin 10:20 with the chemical protection of plants (with fungicides) was applied (Table 1). Numerous pathogenic species were obtained from the isolated fungi colonies. The most frequently isolated species was Fusarium spp., and within it – F. oxysporum. The colonies of this plant pathogen were usually isolated from the plants taken from the control combination in all the studied years (Table 1, Fig. 1). Besides, the following pathogenic fungi were obtained from the pathogenic fungi colonizing the roots as well as the stem base of ginseng: Cylindrocarpon destructans, Pythium irregulare, Rhizoctonia solani, Altenaria alternata and Phytophthora sp. (Table 1, Fig. 1).

The species composition of pathogenic fungi colonizing ginseng obtained in the present studies confirmed the studies earlier conducted by Pięta and Berbeć [14,15], and Pastucha and Kołodziej [12]. The mycological analysis showed that pathogenic species were most frequently isolated in each year of studies from the plants taken from the control combination (Table 1, Fig. 1). On the other hand, those fungi were not always obtained from the plants sampled from the other experimental combinations. It was only Altenaria alternata which was isolated from the infected plant parts in each experimental combination, with much fewer isolates obtained from plants after applying Alkalin and from the combination with fungicides (Fig. 1). According to Berbeć and Dziedzic [3], the numerous occurrence of A. alternata on plantations may result from the use of straw where thick-walled sporules of this fungi were found, for plant mulching.

After performing the mycological analysis numerous occurrence of pathogenic fungi which were dangerous to this plant was observed. Those fungi included F. oxysporum, R. solani, Pythium irregulare, Cylindrocarpon destructans and Phytophthora sp. According to Reeleder and Brammall [21], Minuto et al. [9], Filod et al. [6], Machowicz-Stefaniak et al. [8], Zimowska and Mochowicz-Stefaniak [22] and Rahman and Punja [20], these pathogens are certainly the cause of a lot of infectious diseases lowering the quality of her raw material.

The mycological analysis showed that saprotrophic fungi were also obtained from the examined parts of ginseng. Totally, 267 colonies of saprophytic fungi were isolated from all plants taken for analyses (Table 1). Acremonium strictum, Cladosporium cladosporoides, Humicola grisea, Rhizopus nigricans as well as Mucor spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. were isolated from the analyzed roots and the stem base (Table 1, Fig. 2). Trichoderma spp. was most frequently isolated among saprophytic fungi, especially from plants from the combination after the application of biopreparations and Alkalin 10:20 together with the preparations admitted to be used in ecological agriculture (Table 1, Fig. 2). The smallest amount of these fungi was obtained from the analyzed ginseng parts from the control combination and the combination with fungicides. Similar relationships for papilionaceous plants were indicated by Pięta et al. [16,17] and Pastucha [11]. According to Pospieszny and Struszczyk [18], biologically active substances contained in biopreparations, and especially in chitosan, cause the stimulation of fungi from genus Trichoderma spp.

Within the group of saprotrophic fungi a lot of Penicillium spp. colonies were also isolated. The most of these fungi were obtained from the control combination and from the mixed one, i.e. Alkalin 10:20 jointly with biopreparations admitted to be used in ecological agriculture (Fig. 2). Considerable colonization of ginseng plants by these species were the cause why its healthiness decreased. Apart from the antagonistic effect towards certain pathogens, fungi of this genus also create toxic substances causing disturbances in the transformations in the plant cell, as well as being harmful to people and animals [4, 7].

CONCLUSIONS

1. Alkalin and Alkalin with fungicides (Bravo 500 S.C., Tribenox 330 WP, Alliette, Dithane M-45, Ridomil MZ 72, Antracol 70 WP, Rowral Flo 225 SC) proved to be the most effective in protecting ginseng from soil-borne fungi.

2. The application of biopreparations (Biochikol 020 PC, Biosept 33 SL, Bioczos BR) significantly improved the healthiness of ginseng as compared to the control.

3. Ginseng was infected by Altenaria alternate, Fusarium spp., Cylindrocarpon destructans, Pythium irregulare, Phytophthora sp. and Rhizoctonia soalni.

4. Among the pathogens, Fusarium spp., and especially Fusarium oxysporum proved to be the most harmful towards ginseng.

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The studies were partly financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education within grant No. N 310 07 231.

Accepted for print: 26.09.2007

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