Compositions of Volatile Organic Compounds and Methods of User Thereof

• US 20130224315A1
• Filed: 04/09/2013
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viridos Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synthetic Genomics, Inc.
• Inventors: Green, Wayne A., Strobel, Gary A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,968,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 424/725
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 1/06 Coating or dressing seed
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 2300/00 Combinations or mixtures of active ingredients covered by classes A01N27/00 - A01N65/48 with other active or formulation relevant ingredients, e.g. specific carrier materials or surfactants, covered by classes A01N25/00 - A01N65/48
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 27/00 Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/02 Saturated carboxylic acids or thio analogues thereof; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/12 containing the group , wherein Cn means a carbon skeleton not containing a ring; Thio analogues thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 37/14 containing the group; Thio analogues thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 65/00 Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing material from algae, lichens, bryophyta, multi-cellular fungi or plants, or extracts thereof containing compounds of determined constitution A01N27/00 - A01N59/00
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 65/08 Magnoliopsida [dicotyledons]
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/18 Testing for antimicrobial activity of a material
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 50/30 Against vector-borne diseases, e.g. mosquito-borne, fly-borne, tick-borne or waterborne diseases whose impact is exacerbated by climate change

Abstract

The present invention provides compositions and methods for treating, inhibiting or preventing the developing of a plant pathogenic disease. The compositions comprise volatile organic compounds effective to inhibit the growth of, or kill pathogenic microbes, including Ganoderma boninense. Invention compositions are especially useful in preventing and treating basal stem rot in the oil palm, and can be applied in the vicinity of the plant or used to sterilize the plant growth medium prior to or concurrent with plant growth therein.

Claims

1. A method for treating, inhibiting or reducing the incidence of the development of a plant pathogenic disease, wherein said method comprises applying a composition in the vicinity of a host plant, said composition comprising:

three or more compounds, wherein the first of said three or more compounds is isobutyric anhydride; and

the second of said three or more compounds is selected from the group consisting of one or more of isobutyric acid, methyl isobutyrate, ethyl isobutyrate, propyl isobutyrate, isobutyric acid-allyl ester, and naphthalene, and

the third of said three or more compounds is selected from the group consisting of one or more of;

caryophyllene and a plant essential oil.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second of said three or more compounds is isobutyric acid.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the third of said three or more compounds is caryophyllene.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the composition comprises 20-70% isobutyric anhydride and 20-70% isobutyric acid.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition comprises 1-10% naphthalene, or 1-10% caryophyllene, or 1-10% of a plant essential oil.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the composition further comprises 1-10% caryophyllene.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an agriculturally effective amount of a pesticidal compound or composition selected from the group consisting of an acaricide, a bactericide, a fungicide, an insecticide, a microbicide, a nematicide, and a food preservative.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition is in the form of a powder, a granule, a pellet, a gel, an aqueous suspension, a solution, or an emulsion.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises an agriculturally acceptable carrier.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the carrier is a seed.

11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the host plant is a crop plant.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the host plant is an oil palm plant.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second of said two or more compounds is selected from the group consisting of isobutyric acid, methyl isobutyrate, ethyl isobutyrate, propyl isobutyrate, and isobutyric acid-allyl ester.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein said plant essential oil is selected from the group consisting of the plant essential oils listed in Table 3.

15. A method according to claim 4, wherein the composition comprises 42-53% isobutyric anhydride and 42-53% isobutyric acid.

16. A method according to claims 15, wherein the composition further comprises 3-7% caryophyllene.

17. A method according to claim 1 wherein the plant essential oil is isocaryophyllene or α

-humulene.

18. A method according to claim 1 wherein the composition is applied or coated on a seed.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pathogen is selected from the group consisting of Aspergillus fumigatus, Botrytis cinerea, Cerpospora betae, Curvularia sp., Ganoderma boninense, Geotrichum candidum, Mycosphaerella fijiensis, Phytophthora palmivora, Phytophthora ramorum, Pythium ultimum, Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizopus sp., Schizophyllum sp., Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Verticillium dahliae, and Xanthomona axonopodis.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition is applied in the vicinity of or onto the roots, stems, trunk, seed, or leaves of the host plant.

21. A method according to claim 1, wherein the composition is injected into the roots, stems, trunk, seed, or leaves of the host plant.

22. A method for treating, inhibiting, or reducing the incidence of a plant pathogenic disease, said method comprising exposing or contacting the growth medium of a host plant to or with the composition of claim 1 prior to or concurrent with plant growth in said growth medium.

23. A method for screening microbial strains, said method comprising:

(i) exposing or contacting candidate microbial strains with a composition according to claim 1,

(ii) selecting microbial strains resistant to the composition, and

(iii) characterizing the selected microbial strain,

wherein said method identifies a microbial strain useful for treating, inhibiting or reducing the incidence of a plant pathogenic disease.

24. An isolated microbial strain obtained by the method according to claim 23.