Abstract

Aims: Enterobacter cloacae, Microbacterium oleovorans, Pseudomonas solanacearum and Bacillus subtilis were investigated in order to evaluate: (i) the inoculum size of two bacterial mixtures on Fusarium verticillioides growth and fumonisin B-1 production in vitro at different water activities and (ii) the efficacy of a seed treatment with the best bacterial mixture on F. verticillioides root colonization in greenhouse studies. Methods and Results: The influence of bacterial mixtures (1 = E. cloacae and M. oleovorans and 2 = P. solanacearum and B. subtilis) to antagonize 13 F. verticillioides strains at different inoculum concentrations (10(8), 10(9) and 10(10) cells ml(-1)) and water activities (0.937, 0.955 and 0.982 a(W)) were examined. Antibiosis, growth rate and fumonisin B-1 production were determined. Bacterial mixture 1 proved to exert the most effective control. Seed treatment with mixture 1 at 10(8) cells ml(-1) had the best inhibitory effect on F. verticillioides root colonization. Conclusions: These results suggest that the combination E. cloacae and M. oleovorans has the potential for the biological control of F. verticillioides as a maize seed inoculant. Significance and Impact of the Study: The application of this knowledge contributes to prevent the vertical transmission of F. verticillioides.