Prospecção de rizobactérias para o biocontrole da rizoctoniose do caupi

Abstract

The Rhizoctonia canker, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is an important disease of cowpea in northeastern Brazil. This work aimed to select cowpea rhizobacteria as biocontrol agents of Rhizoctonia canker and to assess the stability of the control by promising isolates for different isolates and inoculum densities of the pathogen, and soil types. Samples of cowpea plants with no symptoms of root diseases were collected in 22 fields and 87 bacterial isolates were obtained from their rhizoplane, with 59 strains of Bacillus spp. and 28 strains of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. These strains were evaluated for their efficacy in reducing the severity of Rhizoctonia canker of cowpea under greenhouse conditions. In a preliminary screening cowpea seeds (cv. IPA-206) were immersed in bacterial suspension(approximately 108 cells/mL) prepared in 0.1 M MgSO4 solution and sown in trays containing unsterilized soil (Camaragibe) previously infested (isolated CMM-2656) with 150 mg of substrate (rice) colonized/kg soil. The assessment of disease severity was determined after 15 days, using a scale from 0 to 4, where 0 = no symptoms and 4 = non-germinated seeds and/or non-emerged plantlets. Only five bacterial strains (B-05, B-13, B-63, B-65 and B-71), all from the genus Bacillus, reduced levels of disease severity above 45% and were evaluated in relation to five isolates (CMM-2651, CMM-2654, CMM-2666, CMM-2675 and CMM-2682) and three inoculum densities (200, 250 and 300 mg/kg soil) of R. solani, and five soil types (Aldeia, Goiana, Itapirema, Pombos and Vitória). Only the bacterial strain B-71 showed similar levels of Rhizoctonia canker control induced by different isolates of the pathogen, with an average of 24.5% in the reduction of severity levels. The strain B-65 had the highest levels of disease control at the three inoculum densities of R. solani, with an average of 22.2%. It was evident the influence of soil on the effectiveness of the strains. The great variability of results in the control of Rhizoctonia canker due to different isolates and inoculum densities of R. solani as well as the unstable response in different soil types may be factors limiting the use of Bacillus spp. in the treatment of cowpea seeds in field conditions.