Effects of compost addition and simulated solarisation on the fate of Ralstonia solanacearum biovar 2 and indigenous bacteria in soil

The effects of compost addition and simulated solarisation of soil on the survival of Ralstonia solanacearum biovar 2 strain 1609, as well as on the structure of indigenous soil bacterial communities, were analysed. In addition, effects on the invasion of susceptible test plants by strain 1609 were assessed. In untreated soil in microcosms and the field, strain 1609 showed slow progressive declines, from 106-107 to roughly 104-105 CFU per g dry soil in around 60 days. When these soils were used in suppressiveness tests, a majority of plants developed symptoms of wilting and revealed the presence of the pathogen in their lower stem parts, as evidenced by immunofluorescence colony staining (IFC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Solarisation of unamended soil did not drastically affect R. solanacearum survival or plant invasiveness. However, the addition of household compost resulted in enhanced R. solanacearum population decline rates, as well as reduced numbers of diseased plants in suppressiveness tests. Combined solarisation and compost addition yielded differential results between microcosms and the field. Some healthy-looking plants, primarily from soils treated with compost, revealed the latent presence of strain 1609 in the lower stem parts. The eubacterial and -subgroup proteobacterial communities in the differentially treated soil microcosms were rather stable, as evidenced by analysis of PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) generated molecular profiles. However, compost amendment clearly induced changes in these communities, which were detectable until the end of the experiment; two major bands, affiliated with Variovorax paradoxus and Aquaspirillum psychrophylum, were associated with the compost amendment. The decrease in abundance of R. solanacearum in the compost-amended soils was confirmed by the DGGE profiles.