Abstract
A study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of some non-traditional methods, alone and in combination with recommended fungicides, for controlling Botrytis fabae Sard, the causal agent choclate spot of faba bean under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Accumulation of reactive oxygen species (O-2(center dot-) and H2O2) which induce oxidative stress in plants was determined. Moreover, protein analysis of faba bean infected leaves was carried out to investigate the mechanism of disease reduction in different treatments. Results showed that all the tested materials were effective against B. fabae under laboratory conditions relative to control while in greenhouse experiments tested fungicides were the most effective ones, followed by microorganisms and nanosilver, respectively. Moreover, the mixtures of tested fungicides with nanosilver improved their efficacy against choclate spot disease of faba bean rather than using each separately. The endogenous superoxide and hydrogen peroxide levels increased significantly in treated leaves relative to untreated control. Data of protein analysis showed differences in faba bean leaves protein under the tested treatments which implied different gene(s) expression and different response of faba bean to the disease severity of the choclate spot. Effective microorganisms and nanosilver are promising alternatives to fungicides for controlling choclate spot of faba bean. Also, this study suggests the possibility of mixing nanosilver with some fungicides to minimize health risk and environmental pollution.