Introduction of Defence Response in Papaya (Carica papaya) Against PRSV Through Organic and Inorganic Chemicals as Inducers

The use of molecules that promote plant defence mechanisms turn out to be an alternative in disease management in agriculturally important crops contributing to the reduction of pesticide use. The activation of the defence responses in plants constitute a promising tool for the control of diseases in conventional agriculture. The results of the effect of a Chamomile aqueous extract as organic inducer and a sulphur-based fungicide as inorganic chemical inducer, as well as their combination, on the induction of resistance-related PR1 and MPK1 genes are presented in this work. In vivo results show a deleterious effect of the organic inducer in papaya plants. However, this effect decreased when combined with the sulphur-based compound, which also reduced the severity of symptoms caused by PRSV. Our results indicate that the combined treatment generates a similar response in plants to that produced by Salicylic Acid in the induction of PR1 expression.