IDENTIFICATION OF AN ENDOPHYTIC BIOCONTROL STRAIN NS03 AND ITS EFFICACY IN CONTROLLING POMEGRANATE DRY FRUIT ROT DISEASE

Pomegranate dry fruit rot (PDFR) caused by Zythia versoniana is an economically important disease in pomegranate production worldwide.
Fungicides are frequently used in controlling this disease and might result in chemical residues in pomegranate plants and their environments.
The overuse of fungicides in pomegranate production has become a public concern.
To solve these problems, an intensive study on biocontrol of PDFR is needed.
An entophytic bacterial strain NS03 with strong antifungal activity against Z. versoniana was isolated from a pomegranate plant and identified as Bacillus subtilis based on its 16S rDNA sequence analysis as well as physiological and biochemical characteristics.
Both in vitro and in vivo tests showed that the control efficacy and the inhibition rate of strain NS03 against Z. versoniana and PDFR reached to 43.3 and 99.5%, respectively, indicating that the entophytic bacterium was a promising biocontrol agent against PDFR.

III International Symposium on Pomegranate and Minor Mediterranean Fruits

Ma Yao-hua, Tan Xiao-yan, Liu Jing, Luo Wei, Huang Si-liang

pomegranate dry fruit rot (PDFR), Zythia versoniana, endophytic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, biocontrol

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1089.16