The biological control of seed-borne Alternaria brassicicola of cruciferous plants with a powdery preparation of Streptomyces sp.

Authors

• Risto Tahvonen Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural Research Centre, SF-31600 JOKIOINEN, Finland
• Hanna Avikainen Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural Research Centre, SF-31600 JOKIOINEN, Finland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.72264

Abstract

The effectiveness of a powdery preparation of a Streptomyces sp. isolate as a seed dressing agent against seed-borne Alternaria brassicicola on different Brassica species was investigated in the study. The preparation was made by freeze-drying and milling the biomass produced in a fermentor into a form suitable for use as a dusting agent. Seed dressing was 80—90 % successful in controlling damping-off from seeds artificially infected with A. brassicicola. The effectiveness of dressing remained unchanged on seeds stored under dry conditions for 5—6 weeks, but subsequently decreased slowly and was ca. 50 % six months after dusting. Streptomyces dressing controlled, in a manner comparable to chemical dressing with thiram, damping-off caused by Alternaria fungi on seedlings which were grown from commercial seed lots of different origin. The results of biological control of damping-off did not vary in the peat lots of different origin whose natural disease suppressivity varied considerably. The control result was the same or better than chemical dressing with thiram. The acidity of the substrate (pH 4.8—8.6) had no effect on the effectiveness of biological control. The results obtained against Alternaria damping-off were the same in other substrates clay, fine sand and mull as in peat.