Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Biological Control
175-P
Applications of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB01 for managing Fusarium wilt of cucumber
W. DENG (1), H. Chou (2), I. Yang (3), Y. Lin (4), H. Wang (2), S. Chuang (2), T. Huang (2) (1) National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan; (2) Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Taiwan; (3) Taiwan Agricultural Mechanization Rese
Cucumber Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (Foc), is the most devastating disease on cucumber. Currently, no effective chemicals are available for disease control; however, prior studies showed that antagonistic rhizobacteria can reduce the disease severity, suggesting that biocontrol agents might be potential solutions for the management of Fusarium wilt disease. In this study, soil bacteria with inhibitory activity on in-vitro Foc growth were isolated. Among them, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens PMB01 showed the best antagonistic activity against Foc in confrontation assays. The efficacy of PMB01 on controlling Fusarium wilt disease of cucumber (FWC) was evaluated in field experiments, and the results showed that applications of the formulated PMB01 reduced the disease severity of FWC down to less than 15%. Prior research also revealed that the formulated PMB01 effectively controlled bacterial wilt disease of tomato (BWT), caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, in field trials. Whole genome shotgun sequencing showed that PMB01 harbors genes involved in the biosynthesis of cyclic lipopeptides, bacillibactin, and bacilysin, which might collectively contribute to its biocontrol activity. Toxicology testing demonstrated that PMB01 was non-toxic to mammals. In 2016, the biopesticide Saviour® containing B. amyloliquefaciens PMB01 as the active ingredient was developed and commercialized in Taiwan for integrated management of BWT and FWC.