Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Biological Control
178-P
Field Performance of Endophytic Actinomycetes in Relation to Plant Growth Promotion and Biological Control of Fusarium oxysporum a Pathogen of Tomato
K. EL-TARABILY (1), A. Alkhajeh (1) (1) United Arab Emirates University, Uae
Four endophytic actinomycete strains identified as Actinoplanes missouriensis, Streptomyces olivaceiscleroticus, S. globosus and Dactylosporangium aurantiacum were obtained in a previous study from surface-disinfested tomato roots. The performance of these four strains was evaluated under field conditions to determine their potential to promote plant growth and to reduce the incidence of wilt disease of tomato caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici. When applied individually or in combination to tomato seedlings, the four strains significantly promoted growth and reduced the incidence of the disease. Individually the performance level of A. missouriensis was relatively the best followed by S. olivaceiscleroticus, then by S. globosus and then by D. aurantiacum. The combination of the four strains resulted in significantly better suppression of the disease and growth promotion, compared to individual strains. The ACC deaminase-producing isolates (ACC+) (A. missouriensis and S. olivaceiscleroticus) were significantly more effective in reducing the incidence of the disease compared to ACC deaminase-non-producing (ACC-) isolates (S. globosus and D. aurantiacum). The overall performance of the endophytic strains is promising and could replace the fungicides currently in use for the control of Fusarium diseases. The results also showed the potential to enhance the biocontrol agent’s performance by including the ACC deaminase ability into the biocontrol strains.