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. 2021 May;77(5):2502-2511.
doi: 10.1002/ps.6281. Epub 2021 Feb 7.

Field validation of biocontrol strategies to control brown rot on stone fruit in several European countries

Carla Casals  1 , Belén Guijarro  2 , Antonieta De Cal  2 , Rosario Torres  1 , Josep Usall  1 , Víctor Perdrix  3 , Ulrike Hilscher  4 , Edith Ladurner  5 , Tom Smets  6 , Neus Teixidó  1
Affiliations

Field validation of biocontrol strategies to control brown rot on stone fruit in several European countries

Carla Casals et al. Pest Manag Sci. 2021 May.

Abstract

Background: Brown rot caused by Monilinia spp. is the most significant disease of stone fruit. New approaches to fruit production have necessitated the development of control strategies that are more eco- and consumer-friendly. An efficient field strategy to control brown rot was previously designed based on the application of two biocontrol agents (BCAs), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CPA-8 (CPA-8) or Penicillium frequentans 909 (Pf909), with calendar-based treatment. In the present study, the strategy was validated on different stone fruit hosts in four producing countries over two seasons.

Results: The results obtained were reported according to three different scenarios: Scenario 1, in which there was no presence of disease in the field; Scenario 2, in which high disease pressure occurred in the field and treatments (biologicals or chemicals) were not effective; and Scenario 3, with low or medium to high disease presence. The results were successful because, in general, BCA strategies were shown to control brown rot to a similar extent as chemicals strategies. We found that most of the trials conducted in this study were classed under Scenario 3 (62.5%), with only 12.5% and 25% of the trials classed under Scenarios 1 and 2, respectively.

Conclusion: These novel findings allowed the formulation of CPA-8 and Pf909 as valuable tools for farmers to produce stone fruits more competitively and meet consumer demand for safer and more environmentally friendly products. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Keywords: Monilinia spp; biocontrol; brown rot; field applications; stone fruit.

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References

REFERENCES

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