Control of oomycete pathogens during Pyropia farming and processing using calcium propionate

The oomycete pathogens Pythium porphyrae, causing red rot disease, and Olpidiopsis spp. causing Olpidiopsis-blight, cause serious economic losses to Pyropia sea farms in Korea. During the washing step for Pyropia processing, these pathogens proliferate rapidly, significantly reducing the quality of the final product. To develop non-acidic treatments for these pathogens, various calcium salts were tested against the infectivity of P. porphyrae and Olpidiopsis pyropiae on Pyropia gametophytes, and calcium propionate was the most effective. When Pyropia blades were immersed in 10 mM calcium propionate for 1 h after inoculation with the oomycete pathogen, infection rate of both oomycete pathogens on day 2 was significantly lower (7.1%) than control (>95%). Brief incubation of Pyropia blades in calcium propionate also reduced the spread of infection. The infected area of Pyropia thallus was reduced to 14.3% of the control in 2 days after treatment with 100 mM calcium propionate for 30 s. In field experiments conducted in actual aquaculture farms, it has been shown that a brief 30 s wash every two weeks with 100 mM calcium propionate can effectively reduce the spread of oomycetes throughout the entire culture period. The above results suggest that calcium propionate can be a useful means for controlling the spread of oomycetes not only during laver processing but also during aquaculture.