The objective of this work was to evaluate application methods, maintenance doses, and application intervals of acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) on the control of tomato bacterial wilt, as well as its effect on pathogen population densities. In experiments carried out in a greenhouse and under controlled temperature, ASM was applied by two methods: foliar spray and soil drench. Ralstonia solanacearum was inoculated three days after the second application of ASM. To determine the best maintenance dose and application interval, ASM was applied using three different doses at ten-day intervals. There was a significant reduction in disease severity, regardless of the application method used. The maintenance doses of ASM provided intermediate severity reductions, differing from each other and from the other treatments. In relation to the number of applications, there was no significant difference when the product was applied one or two times after the inoculation of the challenging pathogen. The experiment conducted under controlled temperature showed an increase in the height of the tomato plants treated with ASM. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between disease severity and plant growth promotion. The application of ASM reduced the population densities of R. solanacearum, although there was no significant difference when compared to the control plants.
Ralstonia solanacearum; Solanum lycopersicum; induction of resistance; ASM
