Interaction of endophytic diazotrophic bacteria and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense on plantlets of banana ‘Maça’

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of endophytic diazotrophic bacteria Herbaspirillum and Burkholderia on the Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) establishment and on the plantlets growth of the 'Maçã' banana (Musa spp., group ABB). Two assays were carried out in a greenhouse at the National Center of Tropical Agroindustry in Fortaleza city, Ceará State (Brazil), using randomized block designs in the factorial arrangements 4×2 and 8×2. On the first trial plantlets were inoculated with the Burkholderia sp. AB202; Herbaspirillum sp., BA227, both of strains and controls bacteria, with and without Foc and cultivated in pots filled with an autoclaved mixture of washed sand and vermiculite (ratio 3:2 v v −1 ), during 4 months. On a second assay, plants were subjected to following conditions: absence and presence of strains AB202, AB213 (Burkholderia spp.), BA227, BA234 (Herbaspirillum-like), AB202 plus BA227, AB213 plus BA234, the mixture of the four bacterial strain, absence and presence of the Foc; and cultivated in pots filled with autoclaved Haplic Arenosol, during 2 months. The plant association with diazotrophs and the Foc was confirmed, and factors interacted significantly on the most probable number of bacteria and the colony forming units of the pathogen on roots and plant rhizomes. The potential of the endophytes on the inhibition of Foc propagate units and on the plant growth promotion was demonstrated. The higher biomass was observed four and 2 months after plant inoculation with AB202 and BA234. Results showed that these endophytes may be used as potential biofertilizer and biocontrol agents.

Endophytic bacteria from banana cultivars and their antifungal activity

“…Weber et al (2007) isolated bacterial endophytes from Musa spp, specifically from Pacovan and Prata cultivars in the state of Ceará (northeast of Brazil), and they identified bacteria with potential use in biocontrol and biofertilization. Thomas et al (2008) identified the presence of culturable and non-culturable endophytes and analyzed the ubiquitous and intense association between endophytes and bananas, including their quiescent survival in apparently clean tissue cultures.…”

“…Endophytes have been isolated from different parts of plants, such as roots, stems, nodes, leaves, and fruits, and from a wide variety of plants, including many that are of agricultural interest such as grapevines (Bell et al, 1995), cotton , rice (Stolzfus et al, 1997), tomatoes (Pillay and Nowak, 1997), maize , wheat and sorghum (Zinniel et al, 2002), potatoes (Reiter et al, 2003), banana plants (Weber et al, 2007), and sugar cane (Lira-Cadete et al, 2012).…”

Rapid screening of Musa species for resistance to Fusarium wilt in an in vitro bioassay

“…In vitro inoculated plantlets were maintained at 25°C, the optimal temperature for growth of Foc (Groenewald et al 2006). In previous reports on pot and hydroponic systems of screening for Fusarium wilt resistance, the exact temperature range of the greenhouse is not indicated (Matsumoto et al 1995;De Ascensao and Dubery 2000;Groenewald et al 2006;Subramaniam et al 2006;Weber et al 2007;Smith et al 2008) or varies from 18 to 25°C (Van den Berg et al 2007). Since temperature is important in progress of Foc invasion and symptom development in banana (Beckman and Halmos 1962), the in vitro bioassay is favourable for consistent infection by Foc.…”

“…So far, the most commonly used early bioassay is a pot system (Matsumoto et al 1995;Subramaniam et al 2006;Weber et al 2007;Smith et al 2008), followed by a hydroponic system (De Ascensao and Dubery 2000; Groenewald et al 2006;Van den Berg et al 2007). Not all authors have indicated the age of tissue-cultured banana plants used in the two systems.…”

Current Advances in the Fusarium Wilt Disease Management in Banana with Emphasis on Biological Control

“…Treatment of 'Maçã' banana (Musa spp. ; group ABB) with endophytic diazotrophic bacteria Herbaspirillum (BA234) and Burkholderia (AB202) also resulted in significant reduction of Foc unit propagules as well as increase in biomass of the plant in four and two months after plant inoculation with AB202 and BA234 respectively suggesting that these endophytic diazotrophic bacteria may be used as potential bio-fertilizer and bio-control agents for banana (Weber et al 2007). …”