Andrew Wilson, our technical manager for plant protection products, explains why it makes perfect sense to fight a fungal disease with another fungus.
The Lallemand Plant Care biopesticide Prestop® has quickly become an important tool in ornamental growers fight against a number of key plant fungal diseases.
Aerial treatments of Prestop target Grey Mould and Stem Cankers caused by Botrytis and Didymella while treatment of soil, growing media or substrates provides protection against damping-off and root or base rots caused by Pythium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia and Fusarium.
Test for Prestop® in your crops with Prestop® Vision kit. Ask your Technical Area Sales Manager
So what is Prestop?
Prestop is a biofungicide containing a beneficial organism - in this case a beneficial fungus - that can provide protection from a number of key plant fungal diseases.
Prestop contains a very high concentration of the mycelia and spores of a highly aggressive, naturally occurring soil fungus Gliocladium catenulatum Strain J1446 - isolated for its ability to control several important, and potentially costly, plant fungal diseases. Able to survive in the rhizosphere, around the roots, and on aerial plant parts for several weeks, it attacks and suppresses a wide range of pathogens.
A fundamental factor in Prestop’s success is that conditions favourable for the key fungal pathogens are also optimal to Gliocladium catenulatum strain J1446. The soil wetness levels and soil / air temperature in which these plant pathogens proliferate are equally suited to the parasitic and saprophytic activities of Gliocladium.
To be more exact, Lallemand has shown that Gliocladium catenlatum strain J1446 is active over a wide temperature range. It particularly thrives in air temperatures of 15-25°C and soil temperatures of 15-25°C. The aerial growth of Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) is optimised at 18-22°C, while the soil pathogens causing damping off and root rot pre-emergence prefer 15-20°C and 22-27°C post emergence. As you can see, these temperatures are an excellent fit with those ideally suited to Prestop.
Colonisation, competition and hyperparasitism
Prestop contains a very high concentration of Gliocladium catenulatum J1446 at 2 x 108 CFU/g of product. To give you a gauge for comparison, when Prestop is applied at the correct concentration to plants the beneficial organism population is at least 10 times greater than the concentration of Botrytis cinerea on a highly invaded crop.
What is more, strain J1446 quickly colonises roots, foliage and flowers inhibiting penetration by pathogens. By providing strong competition Prestop prevents pathogen growth.
In addition mycelium filaments, or hyphae, of Gliocladium catenulatum J1446 are hyperparasites secreting enzymes that dissolve the cell walls of pathogenic fungi.
Offering improved convenience and accuracy, Prestop can now be premixed into growing media mixes to provide protection against fungal root diseases.
Alternatively, or in addition as required, it can be applied by drench via a dosatron to provide protection against fungal root diseases or sprayed on to plants to provide protection from fungal diseases on foliage, stems and flowers.
For more information, or to arrange a demonstration of Prestop® Vision – a quick and easy microbial tool to show the presence of Gliocladium catenulatum J1446 on plants – contact your technical area sales manager.
For more information on Prestop click here>>> or read the below