TITLE:
Preliminary Evaluation of Biocontrol Agents against Maize Pathogens Exserohilum turcicum and Puccinia sorghi in Field Assays
AUTHORS:
Melina Sartori, Andrea Nesci, Analía Montemarani, Germán Barros, Julián García, Miriam Etcheverry
KEYWORDS:
Maize, Foliar Diseases, Biological Control, Northern Leaf Blight, Common Rust
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.8 No.9,
September
14,
2017
ABSTRACT: Exserohilum turcicum and Puccinia sorghi cause foliar fungal diseases that affect maize crop in Argentina. These diseases, northern leaf blight and common rust respectively, are presented each year with different levels of severity affecting significantly the yield in susceptible hybrids. Disease control usually consists in the use of resistant cultivars and chemical control. Biological control as a preventive method is a viable alternative to evaluate. The aims of this study were to evaluate the natural incidence of both foliar diseases in maize after application of two antagonists, to determine the survival of the antagonists in the maize phyllosphere and to evaluate the effect of inoculation on grain yield at harvest. Plants treated with both biological control agents showed significant reductions in the incidence of both foliar diseases. In northern leaf blight the reduction was higher than 50% during 40 days in plants treated with Bacillus spp. Moreover, grain yield was significantly higher as compared to control treatments.