Bacteriophage efficacy in controlling bacterial leaf spot disease on water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)
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Abstract
Bacterial leaf spot disease on water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is common and causes severe defoliation. The bacterial pathogen responsible for bacterial leaf spot disease in water spinach was identified as Xanthomonas sp. using biochemical methods and the 16S rRNA-DNA region. In addition, this study further evaluates bacteriophages as a novel biological control approach. From twelve isolated bacteriophages, two with the largest plaque diameters, Φ8b and Φ9, were selected for evaluation of their efficacy in disease control. Results from both net house and field trials showed that these two bacteriophages, when used individually, significantly reduced disease incidence and percentage of infected leaf area compared to the control. However, the mixture of bacteriophages did not present a clear disease control effect. This study demonstrates the potential of bacteriophages for managing bacterial leaf spot disease in water spinach.
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© 2026 The authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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