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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Impact of biostimulants on the resistance induction level of grapevine to downy mildew by elicitors

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The protection of vineyards against cryptogamic diseases such as downy mildew is mainly ensured by synthetic fungicides, which cause serious environmental and health problems. The induction of resistance by elicitors could allow to reduce their use. However, even if their efficacy is demonstrated in greenhouse conditions, it remains quite variable in field conditions. Indeed, the efficacy of an elicitor depends on the plant’s ability to respond, or more generally, on the latter’s physiological status. In this context, part of the FUI project IRIS+, the aim of this present work is to evaluate whether biostimulants, through their effect on the plant’s physiology, would be able to increase their responsiveness to elicitors. The activation of defenses implies a metabolic and energetic cost that the plant must get in charge. First of all, we used a cell suspension model in order to compare two oligosaccharidic elicitors on the primary metabolism of grapevine. Enzymatic and metabolic analyses showed that the oligogalacturonide, which had a stronger impact on secondary metabolism related to defense, compared to laminarin, also showed a more notable impact on primary metabolism, particularly on some sugars and amino acids. The elicitation of grapevine defenses effectively turned out to require resources. Secondly, a screening was carried out to select the most effective elicitor among seven products that were provided by the company. Protection assays against Plasmopara viticola on herbaceous cuttings allowed us to identity SDN3 as the most interesting candidate. In vitro and in planta studies revealed that the mode of action of SDN3 relied on both the activation of defenses and a direct effect against the pathogen. Lastly, as no protocol, nor methodology were available in our laboratory to screen biostimulants, four systems were developed, in order to monitor phenotypic traits of aerial and/or root system: the “pot” model, the “rhizotron” model, the “tubes”, and another termed “X” (no description allowed because of an industrial protection). Only the “X” model showed potential interests, since it allowed to display biostimulating effects such as the acceleration of the bud opening, and the increase of the mean number of primary roots, in response to BS3, applied to the roots. The development of the protocol to apply the elicitor and to infect with P. viticola spores are currently in progress, in order to assess the initial hypothesis by using the combination of BS3 and SDN3.