Determination of the effectiveness of mycorrhiza, vermicompost and potassium fertilization on tomato pith necrosis disease

Tomato Pith Necrosis Disease caused by Pseudomonas cichorii, is one of the seed-borne and soil-borne bacterial diseases causing important yield losses. In the study, diseased plants by pith necrosis were collected from tomato greenhouses, located in Erdemli district of Mersin province. Then, pathogenic bacterial strains were isolated from diseased plants and identified by LOPAT tests and MALDI TOF MS. The efficacy of vermicompost, mycorrhiza and potassium fertilization with alone, double and triple combinations on suppressing the pith necrosis disease were investigated in pot experiments. All of the treatments reduced the disease by 52-74% ratios. Among the applications, mycorrhiza treatment was the most successful one with a rate of % 74. Then, vermicompost, vermicompost+mycorrhiza, vermicompost+potassium, and mycorrhiza+potassium applications prevented the disease with 68-71% ratios. Other successfull applications were obtained with % 62 in triple combination and % 52 in potassium fertilization. The research has been shown that vermicompost, mycorrhiza and potassium fertilization which have induced resistance and improved the nutrient uptake of plants can be used successfully against Tomato Pith Necrosis Disease.