Winter rye cover cropping changes squash (Cucurbita pepo) phyllosphere microbiota and reduces Pseudomonas syringae symptoms

This project described the leaf metagenome of squash grown under four cropping practices: rye cover crop, chemically terminated rye cover crops, plastic cover and bare soil. By disentangling the phyllosphere bacterial communities of squash with a combined 16S sequencing and culture-based approaches , this study investigated the decrease of Pseudomonas syringae populations and symptoms observed when squash are grown on a rye cover crop. Overall, our findings suggest cover cropping is effective for the sustainable management of P. syringae on squash and may provide a reservoir of potential microbial biocontrol agents colonizing the phyllosphere