Effect of biological control agents on Fusarium verticillioides count and fumonisin content in maize grain at field

PEREIRA, P.; NESCI, A.; ETCHEVERRY, M.

Bolsa de Comercio de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina

Conferencia; 1 Conferencia Latinoamericana ICC 2007. International Conference on Cereals and Cereal Products Quality and Safety; 2007

Bolsa de Comercio de Rosario

The aims of the present work were I) to evaluate the impact of different bacterial biological control agents, applied as sprays during maize flowering period, on Fusarium verticillioides count in maize grains at field level; II) to analyze the effectiveness of the biocontrol agents in reducing fumonisins levels in maize grains at harvest time. Treatment numbers 2 (B. amyloliquefaciens), 3 (M. oleovorans 1), 4 (M. oleovorans 2) and 5 (E. hormaechei) produced a statistically significant decrease in F. verticillioides counts obtained from maize grains. The sprays of maize flowers with M .oleovorans 1 and E. hormaechei may represent an effective method for reducing fumonisins content in the maize crop. Considering that F. verticillioides-maize interactions are of a great importance to economic, social and health issues and that environmentally compatible strategies such as biological control represent another alternative to cope with the problem of maize contamination with fumonisins, the use of  M .oleovorans 1 and E. hormaechei may represent a biological method that may provide integral crop protection.