Evaluación in vitro de microorganismos promisorios para el control de fitopatógenos en el cultivo de banano (MUSA SPP.)

Abstract

This research sought to identify differences in the effectiveness of microorganisms depending on their ecological niche and the phytopathogen faced. The cultivation of bananas (Musa spp.) is one of the main economic activities in Ecuador, contributing significantly to the commercial sector and the generation of local jobs. However, this sector faces a problem due to the incidence of phytopathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum causing Moko disease, Colletotrichum musae responsible for anthracnose and Pseudocercospora fijiensis causal agent of black Sigatoka. These diseases generate high losses in economic profits by reducing the quality of production. In this context, the present study evaluated the inhibitory capacity of beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria from Antarctic soils, bacteria extracted from cocoa ferments and fungi isolated from the Prosperina Protective Forest with the aim of identifying strains that act as biocontrol agents and are considered as sustainable alternatives to conventional agrochemicals. In vitro assays were implemented for direct confrontation between the selected microorganisms and the aforementioned phytopathogens, using specific methodologies for each type of interaction (bacteria-bacteria, fungus-bacteria, and fungus-fungus). The results reported that the antagonistic effect was found mainly in bacterial strains from the fermentation of cocoa and fungi, of the genera Bacillus spp., Lactiplantibacillus sp., Acetobacter sp., Ralstonia sp. and Trichoderma spp.