Preliminary assay on the biocontrol capacity of two Bacillus species on the causal agents of two limiting soil borne diseases of onion crops

JUNCOSA, F.; ALBARRACÍN ORIO, A.G.; SAYAGO, P.; DUCASSE, D.A.

Foz do Iguazu

Workshop; IV Workshop Latino-Americano de PGPR.; 2018

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the most important horticultural crops in Argentina, with an estimated production of 450 thousand tons per year. Argentinean onion supplies the domestic market and it is also known worldwide as a culinary product of good flavor and high quality. Brazil is the main destination Argentinean onions are exported mainly to Brazil but, in recent years, there has been growing demand from European countries, especially Spain and Belgium, representing a need to increase onion production. Plant diseases caused by fungi, represent one of the most importance losses in onion production. Among these diseases, ?onion pink root? and ?basal plate rot? both caused by soil-borne fungi; Setophoma terrestris Fusarium spp. respectively, are responsible of severe damage and yield lost. Management of soil borne diseases is not an easy task and normally requires of a combination of different strategies like crop rotation, resistant varieties and use of biocontrol agents among others. The screening and identification of PGPRs with antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens is an environmentally friendly alternative to protect crops. In this work, we present preliminary results of two Bacillus spp. as a candidates for biologically control S. terrestris and Fusarium spp. Co-culture essays between the pathogens and the Bacillus isolates were carried out in PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) plates. Both strains showed a good antagonistic activity against both pathogens, with an inhibitory capacity superior to 75% in the case of S.terrestris, and over 65% in the case of Fusarium spp. Next steps in our research will be to test this PGPR in field assays to validate this results.