Interaction between bacterial biocontrol-agents and strains of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli effects on biocontrol efficacy of common blight in beans

The bacterial biocontrol agents (BCAs) treatments were used for seed microbiolization; the bacterial biocontrol agents (BCAs) used selected from previous study on the control of Xanthomonas-axonopodis pv. phaseoli Xap) includes: Bacillus (DFs093, DFs348 and DFs769), Pseudomonas (DFs513, DFs831 and DFs842), Rhodococcus (DFs843 and DFs912), and the combinations C01 (DFs093+DFs769+DFs831), C02 (DFs093+DFs769+DFs842) and C03 (DFs093+DFs769+DFs348). Sixteen (16) Xap strains were collected from several Brazilian regions, and were inoculated in cotyledonary leaves. The symptom development was followed for 10 days. The treatments were compared by the area under the disease progress curve for disease incidence, severity, and index. In general, majority of the BCAs reduced, to some degree, the disease caused by different Xap strains. The combination C01, and the isolate DFs831 resulted in highest mean disease control. The data from this study suggest a relationship between the region of origin of Xap strain and the efficacy of BCA to control the disease caused by it. The use of combinations of these organisms increased the efficacy of the biocontrol of several strains of the same pathogen. A strain-BCA interaction was shown by data collected from this study, which evidence the importance of selecting a BCA or a combination of BCAs with a wider spectrum of action.