The impact of systemic and copper pesticide applications on the phyllosphere microflora of tomatoes

摘要

BACKGROUNDContamination of tomatoes by Salmonella can occur in agricultural settings. Little is currently understood about how agricultural inputs such as pesticide applications may impact epiphytic crop microflora and potentially play a role in contamination events. We examined the impact of two materials commonly used in Virginia tomato agriculture: acibenzolar-S-methyl (crop protectant) and copper oxychloride (pesticide) to identify the effects these materials may exert on baseline tomato microflora and on the incidence of three specific genera; Salmonella, Xanthomonas and Paenibacillus.