Application of Pseudomonas spp. for biocontrol of plant diseases in hydroponic systems

Crazy Root disease (Agrobacterium rhizogenes; CR) has recently been recognized as an emergingdisease particularly in greenhouse hydroponic tomato production. There is currently nocommercial product for control of CR disease.Consequently growers must sterilize or throw awayall infected materials leading to added expenses and operational downtime. Use of biocontrol ingreenhouses continues to increase; however a significant problem in the expanding biologicalsmarket is inconsistent performance of biological products.3Bar Biologics is bringing to market a novel beneficial microbe delivery system to improve sub- optimal inconsistent performance of biological products.The delivery system is easily activatedon-site by the grower by simply pushing a button to combine the stabilized bacteria inoculum withthe liquid growth medium.3Bar's disposable bioreactor technology opens up the potential forgrowers to apply more effective microbial strains with CR control capability. Discovery research atThe Ohio State University has identified several Pseudomonas strains capable of CR control.Theproposed Phase I project aims to prove feasibility to prevent CR disease in hydroponic tomatoproduction using the identified Pseudomonas strains delivered with 3Bar's system.The proposedwork addresses three technical objectives: i) maximize cellular yields in the system with identifiedPseudomonas strains ii) characterize compatibility of new formulations for feasible use inhydroponics systems and iii) evaluate efficacy in greenhouse hydroponic tomato production. Theultimate goal is to develop a broad-spectrum biocontrol product for use against multiple plantdiseases particularly Crazy Root and fungal root rots and at the same time provide "probiotic"benefits to plants to increase vegetable yield and quality in hydroponic systems.The proposedproject is directly aligned with USDA NIFA Challenge Area 1) Global Food Security and Priority8.2.3) to research bio-based approaches for plant protection against abiotic and biotic stresses.