Induction of defence response against blister blight by calcium chloride in tea

• Published in: Archiv für Phytopathologie und Pflanzenschutz Vol. 47; no. 19; pp. 2400 - 2409
• Main Authors: Chandra, Swarnendu, Chakraborty, Nilanjan, Chakraborty, Amrita, Rai, Ripen, Bera, Biswajit, Acharya, Krishnendu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 26.11.2014; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: abiotic stress; beta-glucanase; beverages; blight; Calcium; calcium chloride; Camellia sinensis; catechol oxidase; defence enzyme; disease control; elicitor; elicitors; Exobasidium; fungi; industry; leaves; Nitric oxide; pathogens; peroxidase; phenol; phenylalanine ammonia-lyase; resistance; Tea
• ISSN: 1477-2906; 0323-5408; 1477-2906
• DOI: 10.1080/03235408.2014.880555

Tea, the second most consumed beverage after water in the world, is produced from the processed tender leaves of tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Production of tea is hindered by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic factors, blister blight disease caused by an obligate fungal pathogen, Exobasidium vexans Massee, is a serious problem to the tea industry. The present study was to evaluate the efficacy of elicitor calcium chloride (CaCl ₂) in inducing resistance in tea plants against blister blight disease. During the pick time of blister incidence at Darjeeling tea garden, the application of CaCl ₂ at a concentration of 1% resulted in disease inhibition around 71% over the control set. Treatment also resulted in the induction of defence enzymes like peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, β-1,3-glucanase and higher phenol accumulation. Furthermore, the increase in defence molecules also correlated with increase in nitric oxide (NO) generation, a potent defence molecule in plant defence. The result suggests that CaCl ₂ can used as a potential elicitor in the integrated disease management in organic tea cultivation.