Leveduras como agentes protetores e indutores de resistência no manejo da mancha-de-alternaria em couve-manteiga

Abstract

The stain-de-alternaria caused by the fungus Alternaria brassicicola is considered one of the most common and destructive fungal diseases the brassica. The control of Alternaria is based on preventive sprays or after the appearance of first symptoms with fungicides. An alternative to controlling the disease is the use of biological control. In this context, yeasts emerge as a new class of biocontrol agents. This study aimed to: isolate, select and evaluate the potential of yeasts in biocontrol stain-of-alternaria, in kale; verify production Killer toxin, biofilm formation and production of volatile metabolites in vitro, as well as evaluate the yeast as resistance inducing agents in kale, through enzymatic analysis catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. Initially, 18 isolates of A. brassicicola were evaluated in greenhouse for their ability to cause disease in kale, being isolated 91 from the pathogen selected for biocontrol assays. 39 yeast isolates obtained from leaves of healthy plants brassica were evaluated in greenhouse, being five isolates selected for the assays in vivo and in vitro. In the assay biocontrol, kale plants were sprayed with 15 mL of the suspension (1x107 cells mL-1) of yeasts (L32, L40, L44, L47 and L57) in the periods (72, 48, 24 hours before inoculation the pathogen), and immediate (followed of the pathogen inoculation). The yeast isolates (L46, L32, L44 and L40) were the most effective in reducing the severity of the stain-of-alternaria, accounting for severity index of 7,66%, 7,78, 8,13 e 9,07%, respectively. The periods 24 hours and immediate were the most significant in reduction disease. Among the evaluated yeasts, isolates L46 and L44 produced biofilm (weak 1+) and the others did not produce biofilm. As the Killer activity, the five evaluated yeasts produced the Killer toxin. It was also verified that the isolates (L46 and L40) inhibited in 60, 334% and 59,774%, respectively, growth in vitro of A. brassicicola and isolates (L32, L40, L44, L47 and L57) completely inhibited sporulation in vitro of the pathogen. The five isolates of yeasts evaluated provide kale plants higher levels of catalase enzyme in relation to the control treatment. The use of yeast proves to be a promising tool for the biological control of A. brassicicola in kale.