Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
(N/A)
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
0%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
Investigate the interaction between soil moisture content, pH, and population density of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of Streptomyces scabies; evaluate temporal distribution of S. scabies under different irrigation regimes; survey soil samples from different growing regions in Michigan for antagonistic microflora and investigate their effect on S. scabies and scab development under different irrigation regimes; and, evaluate the usefulness of some non-pathogenic strains of S. scabies and other antagonistic organisms as biocontrol agents for scab disease.
Project Methods
In the greenhouse, inoculate sterile sandy, loam, and muck soils with S. scabies; plant susceptible potato tubers and subject to different irrigation regimes; collect soil samples during experiment to determine soil moisture content, pH, and population density of S. Scabies; evaluate tubers for development of scab. To evaluate soil for antagonistic microorganisms, collect soil samples from different potato growing regions in Michigan with a history of scab; analyze soil samples for presence of antagonistic microorganisms; test suppressive strains as candidate biocontrol agents in vitro to characterize the mechanism of action in suppression. In the laboratory, estimate population density of S. scabies by dilution plate methods; use real time PCR to determine population density of pathogenic vs. non-pathogenic strains of S. scabies.