Articles
OVERVIEW OF CONCERNS SURROUNDING ANTIBIOTIC USE FOR CONTROL OF FIRE BLIGHT
Article number
1056_2
Pages
39 – 42
Language
English
Abstract
The antibiotic streptomycin was first used for control of fire blight of pear and apple in the 1950s and quickly became an important tool for management of this serious bacterial disease.
Since the beginning of antibiotic use on plants, questions were raised over the potential for development of resistance to antibiotics by the plant pathogen Erwinia amylovora and unintended detrimental effects on the environment and human health.
To reduce selection pressure for antibiotic resistant populations of E. amylovora, the number of applications are few and applied when predicted disease risk is high.
Studies to address persistence of antibiotics in the environment demonstrated that antibiotics are active on plant surfaces for less than a week and are rapidly inactivated in soils.
Residues exceeding permissible levels set by regulatory agencies have not been reported on harvested fruit.
Metagenomic studies found that within a month after an antibiotic application, bacterial communities in orchards treated with antibiotics were not significantly different from those from non-treated orchards.
Clinical bacteria were not found as resident microbes in the orchard phyllosphere and a direct link between antibiotic use in orchards and antibiotic resistance in human pathogens has not been demonstrated.
Overall, antibiotics have been indispensable for fire blight management for more than 60 years without reports of adverse effects on human health or persistent deleterious effects on the environment.
Since the beginning of antibiotic use on plants, questions were raised over the potential for development of resistance to antibiotics by the plant pathogen Erwinia amylovora and unintended detrimental effects on the environment and human health.
To reduce selection pressure for antibiotic resistant populations of E. amylovora, the number of applications are few and applied when predicted disease risk is high.
Studies to address persistence of antibiotics in the environment demonstrated that antibiotics are active on plant surfaces for less than a week and are rapidly inactivated in soils.
Residues exceeding permissible levels set by regulatory agencies have not been reported on harvested fruit.
Metagenomic studies found that within a month after an antibiotic application, bacterial communities in orchards treated with antibiotics were not significantly different from those from non-treated orchards.
Clinical bacteria were not found as resident microbes in the orchard phyllosphere and a direct link between antibiotic use in orchards and antibiotic resistance in human pathogens has not been demonstrated.
Overall, antibiotics have been indispensable for fire blight management for more than 60 years without reports of adverse effects on human health or persistent deleterious effects on the environment.
Publication
Authors
V.O. Stockwell
Keywords
Erwinia amylovora, streptomycin, tetracycline, pesticide residue, antibiotic resistance
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