Investigation of in vitro Antibacterial Potential of Various Wood Vinegars Against Plant Bacterial Disease Agents

Wood vinegar, also known as pyroligneous acid (PA), is a liquid mixture with organic properties obtained from the condensation of smoke produced by the charring or pyrolysis of wood. The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro antibacterial activity of three different PAs obtained from the pyrolysis of apricot kernels (AKPA), hazelnut shells (HSPA), and kermes oak (OPA) against bacterial plant pathogens species such as Curtobacterium flaccumfacies pv. flaccumfaciens, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola and Bacillus pumilus. The antibacterial activity of wood vinegar on development of disease agents were evaluated by measuring the inhibition zone diameters (IZ) under in vitro conditions by using disk diffusion technique. According to the mean IZ, HSPA was the most effective PA causing 20.34 mm mean IZ, followed by AKPA and OPA PAs with 20.13 and 19.34 mean IZ, respectively. The highest antibacterial activity was shown by HSPA against C. flaccumfacies pv. flaccumfaciens with the diameter of 24.17 mm IZ, followed by AKPA and OPA treatments with 23.33 and 21.17 mm IZ, respectively. The most susceptible bacterial pathogens against C. flaccumfacies pv. flaccumfaciens with a 22.89 mm mean IZ, followed by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola and B. pumilus with 19.89, 18.50 and 18.44 mm mean IZ, respectively. C. flaccumfacies pv. flaccumfaciens was found to be the most sensitive to the three PAs used in the study. The results showed that wood vinegar has a great antibacterial potential to be used as a bio-bactericide against important plant bacterial disease agents.