Microbial Colonization of Tomato Phylloplane is Influenced by Leaf Age

Nutrient status on the leaf alters as it matures, which often restructures the microbial population. To understand the effect of age on phylloplane colonization, two varieties of tomato (Pusa early dwarf and F1-Priya-6636) were sampled. Various stages of leaf development and microbial colonization was studied by leaf imprint culture method. The bacterial species were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing, and fungal species by microscopic methods. The dominant bacterial species were Pseudomonas koreensis, P. stutzeri, P. jesseni, Sphingobacterium daejonense, Klebsiella pneumoneae, Serratia fonticola and fungal species were Alternaria alternata, A. citrifolia, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. candidus, A. nidulans, Penicillium expansum, Curvlaria lunata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum, Fusarium oxysporum, Trichoderma harzianum and Rhizoctonia solani. Leaf surfaces were investigated by assessment of microbial colonization patterns. Adaxial surface was found to be densely populated with age.