title: Viability and stability of biological control agents on cotton and snap bean seeds.
abstract: Cotton and snap bean were selected for a multi-year, multi-state regional (south-eastern USA) research project to evaluate the efficacy of both commercial and experimental bacterial and fungal biological control agents for the management of damping-off diseases. The goal for this portion of the project was to determine the viability and stability of biological agents after application to seed. The biological seed treatments used included: (1) Bacillaceae bacteria, (2) non-Bacillaceae bacteria, (3) the fungus Trichoderma and (4) the fungus Beauveria bassiana. Seed assays were conducted to evaluate the following application factors: short-term (< or = 3 months) stability after seed treatment; quality (i.e. isolate purity); compatibility with chemical pesticides and other biocontrol agents; application uniformity between years and plant species. For the bacterial treatments, the Bacillaceae genera (Bacillus and Paenibacillus) maintained the greatest population of bacteria per seed, the best viability over time and the best application uniformity across years and seed type. The non-Bacillaceae genera Burkholderia and Pseudomonas had the least viability and uniformity. Although Beauveria bassiana was only evaluated one year, the seed fungal populations were high and uniform. The seed fungal populations and uniformity for the Trichoderma isolates were more variable, except for the commercial product T-22. However, this product was contaminated with a Streptomyces isolate in both the years that it was evaluated. The study demonstrated that Bacillaceae can be mixed with Trichoderma isolates or with numerous pesticides to provide an integrated pest control/growth enhancement package.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, 3205 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314-7799, USA. melliott@ufl.edu
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Des Jardin
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Batson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caceres
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Brannen
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Conway
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rothrock
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Ownley
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Canaday
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Keinath
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sumner
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Motsenbocker
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Thaxton
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cubeta
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Backman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fajardo
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D001406:Bacillaceae / Q000502:physiology; D019117:Burkholderia / Q000502:physiology; D004355:Drug Stability; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000382:microbiology*; D003368:Gossypium / Q000382:microbiology*; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000502:physiology; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000502:physiology; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000382:microbiology