Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Biological Control
187-P
The use of fungal biological control agents to manage SDS, charcoal rot, and damping off in soybean
A. WARNER (1), E. Arnao (2), A. Fakhoury (2) (1) Southern Illinois University Carbondale, U.S.A.; (2) Southern Illinois University Carbondale, U.S.A.
Sudden death syndrome (Fusarium virguliforme), damping off (Rhizoctonia solani), and charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) are three important and detrimental diseases of soybean in soybean growing areas. There is a need for more options to control these pathogens; many of the available management options are costly or limited in their effectiveness. Additionally, many of the current control practices may not be sustainable given their unfavorable impact on the environment. The use of biological control agents (BCAs) provides a more natural alternative for controlling various plant diseases. We have evaluated the effectiveness of multiple BCAs against F. virguliforme, R. solani, and M. phaseolina. We have also investigated the mechanisms the BCAs use to control these pathogens. This was determined through the use of microscopy and the monitoring of the expression of a panel of eight mycoparasitism-induced genes.