2.2 Root zone warming enhances tomato resistance to Xcv
disease
To determine whether RZW can induce resistance to additional classes of
pathogens in tomato, as was previously reported in basil (Elad et al.,
2017, 2016a), we examined the effect of RZW on pathogenesis of the
hemibiotrophic pathogenic bacteria Xcv , the causative agent of
bacterial spot disease in many plant species (Moss et al., 2007). Wild
type (WT) M82 tomato plants were treated with 48 h RZW and allowed to
recover for 3 days or 5 days prior to Xcv infection
(Figure 4 ), and disease progression was measured using colony
forming unit (CFU) count as described in the methodology section.
Disease was assessed 3 days after pathogen inoculation. As we found forBc , RZW significantly decreased disease levels of Xcv in
both Brigade (Figure 4a ) and M82 (Figure 4b )
cultivars. Once again, the disease reduction is due to systemic effects
generated in the roots, which provide disease protection in the plant
shoot.