Abstract

VELASCO-BELALCAZAR, Martha Lucia et al. Endophytic bacteria of Capsicum frutescens antagonistic to Fusarium spp. Agron. Mesoam [online]. 2019, vol.30, n.2, pp.367-380. ISSN 2215-3608.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/am.v30i2.31760.

Introduction. In the last decades, there has been an increased on the interest of Tabasco Chilli pepper cultivation in Colombia; however, production limitation has been observed due to phytosanitary problems. Species of the genus Fusarium cause root and stem rots with large losses for farmers; whereby, it is important to find alternatives to vascular wilt managment caused by Fusarium spp. Objective. The objective of this research was to isolate and characterize endophytic foliar bacteria with in vitro antagonistic potential against Fusarium spp. in Tabasco Chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens) plants. Materials and methods. In the period between February 2014 and February 2016, the in vitro antagonistic capacity of 68 bacterial endophytes of leaf tissue C. frutescens, from two municipalities of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, was evaluated. The isolated bacteria were confronted with six pathogenic isolates of Fusarium spp. by dual growth method. Results. Fifty of the bacterial isolates showed percentages of inhibition against at least one Fusarium isolate, and of these sixteen had percentages of inhibition above 40 %. The morphology, biochemical profile and molecular characterization allowed to determine that the isolates identified as Bacillus subtillis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed inhibition averages between 62 and 89%, high averages compared to those previously reported in other studies. In addition, stand out as new findings of bacteria associated with endophytic plant tissue of C. frutescens, in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, the Enterobacter cloacae, Microbacterium arborescens, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia species. Conclusion. These results constitute a potential source for pathogen management and productivity improvement in tabasco chili pepper in Colombia.

Keywords : Pepper; antagonism; biological control; plant pathogens.

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