Original scientific paper

Prevalence of enterobacteria in the rhizosphere of organically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Marta Bačani ; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Valentina Odorčić ; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka orcid.org/0000-0002-8494-8805 ; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska *
Irina Tanuwidjaja ; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the total number of microorganisms and the prevalence of bacteria of the familly Enterobacteriaceae in the rhizosphere of organically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). A total of 18 rhizosphere soil samples of three varieties of lettuce (Iceberg, Butterhead and Oak leaf) were collected from Varaždin (OPG1) and Istria (OPG2) Counties. The samples were collected in the summer of 2023 and analyzed for the total number of microorganisms grown aerobically at 30°C and Gram-negative bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family, grown anaerobically at the same temperature. The average values of the total number of microorganisms were 8.6x106 ± 2.2x106 CFU/g for OPG1 and 1.3x107 ± 5.2x106 CFU/g for OPG2, while the total number of enterobacteria was 5.7x105 ± 3.2x105 CFU/g for OPG1 and 2.7x105 ± 3.3x105 CFU/g for OPG2. Although statistically significant differences were observed in total number of microorgnisms and enterobacteria between the two farms (p < 0.05), the differences in abundance of both groups of microorganisms between different varieties of lettuce samples were not statistically significant. The results of this work show that the rhizosphere soil of organically produced lettuce is a reservoir of enterobacteria that make up a significant proportion of the total microbiota of the lettuce rhizosphere (1.3 to 8.8% ) and that constant monitoring is needed in order to protect the health of consumers.

Keywords

organically produced lettuce; Enterobacteriaceae; total number of microorganisms; rhizosphere

Hrčak ID:

319516

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/319516

Publication date:

15.7.2024.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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