Establishment of Petunia hybrida as model for studying mycorrhiza-induced resistance

Root pathogens play an important economical role in the production of vegetable and ornamental plants. They cause high losses especially in green house production and are difficult to combat by conventional methods, because the use of pesticides in soils or substrates is limited. The application of arbuscular mycorrhiza could be an alternative as mycorrhizal plants generally showed higher resistance against various soil-borne pathogenic fungi. The success of the inoculation is, however, not predictable and mechanisms behind the protective effects are largely unknown. The ornamental crop Petunia hybrida is among other solanaceous plants confronted with attack by root pathogens and was theref…