Biological control of tomato bacterial spot by saprobe fungi from semi-arid areas of northeastern Brazil

Tomato bacterial spot caused by Xanthomonas spp., is a common disease in tomato fields that causes significant economic losses. Due to the difficulty with control of bacterial spot by conventional methods, new techniques such as biological control and induction of resistance are gaining prominence. This study aimed to select saprobe fungi from semi-arid regions of the Brazilian Northeast for the biological control of bacterial spot of tomato. To select the best isolates to control bacterial spot, a greenhouse experiment was initially conducted. Tomato plants ('Santa Cruz Kada') were treated with filtrates of 25 saprobe fungi and inoculated three days later with Xanthomonas euvesicatoria. Filtrates of Memnoniella levispora, Periconia hispidula, Zygosporium echinosporum, and Chloridium virescens var. virescens were selected as the most effective. Filtrates and volatile compounds from these four isolates were tested for their antibacterial activity in cultures of X. euvesicatoria and in tomato plants ('Santa Cruz Kada') inoculated with X. euvesicatoria. In vitro, the addition of nonvolatile fungal metabolites into the culture medium at 5% and 50% (v/v) inhibited bacterial growth by 28.9% and 53.8%, respectively. The volatile compounds produced by C. virescens var. virescens reduced the number of colony-forming units of X. euvesicatoria by 25.9%. In vivo, all treatments reduced from 62.4 to 71.3% the area under bacterial spot progress curve, showing the same control efficacy as the commercial resistance inducer used as a positive control (acibenzolar-S-methyl). Systemicity of the fungal filtrates was confirmed in a separate experiment, where application of the treatments exclusively to the third leaf decreased the severity of the disease on the fourth leaf (except for C. virescens var. virescens). These results show that M. levispora, P. hispidula, Z. echinosporum, and C. virescens var. virescens are potential biocontrol agents against tomato bacterial spot. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the disease control mechanisms of these saprobe fungi.