BioControl (2009) 54, 123-133

Bettina Maccagnani, Francesca Giacomello, Marco Fanti, Davide Gobbin, Stefano Maini and Gino Angeli (2009)
Apis mellifera and Osmia cornuta as carriers for the secondary spread of Bacillus subtilis on apple flowers
BioControl 54 (1), 123-133
Abstract: The efficiency of two pollinators, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and the mason bee Osmia cornuta (Latreille) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), as carriers of biocontrol agents (BCA) from flower to flower (secondary colonisation) was investigated on apple cv 'Golden Delicious'. The BCA tested was Bacillus subtilis, strain BD170 (Biopro®) developed for the control of the 'fire blight' caused by Erwinia amylovora (Burril) Winslow et al. The two insect species were studied as secondary BCA carriers on apple plants in pots under net screened tunnels. Their behaviour and capacity to deposit the BCA in the most receptive flower parts were compared both by washing, diluting and plating the flower organs on a recovery medium and by means of PCR analyses based on a molecular marker. O. cornuta showed better performances with respect to A. mellifera. For the field trials, pollinators were introduced in four apple orchards. During apple's flowering, the BD170 (100 g hl^−l) was sprayed once in two fields, and twice in the others. The pollinators' efficacy in carrying the BCA from sprayed flowers to the stigmas of newly opened ones at different times after the spray treatment was evaluated. The detection of the BCA was performed by PCR analysis. The percentages of positive PCR flower samples were higher in the internal treated areas of the fields with respect to the external untreated ones, but the high colonisation level found in the latter and in the flowers opened in both areas several days after the treatment(s) demonstrated that pollinators can play an important role as secondary carriers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Davide Gobbin, Stefano Maini

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
application technology

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Erwinia amylovora	Apple (Malus)	Italy
Bacillus subtilis (antagonist)	Erwinia amylovora	Apple (Malus)	Italy