In vitro inhibition of bacteria against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 2

There are three races of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) that affect bananas and plantains, though the Cavendish group banana cultivars are resistant to Foc race 1 (FocR1) and Foc race 2 (FocR2). However, there are no effective control methods for the Tropical Race 4 (R4T). The foregoing makes it necessary to generate biological control strategies for FocR2 fungal model that is present in Mexico, forecasting the potential introduction of FocR4T into our country. In vitro inhibition was evaluated of bacterial strains Bacillus subtilis (BASU), B. velezensis (BAVE), and B. sonorensis (BASO) against three isolates of FocR2 (MIC17188, MIC17191 and MIC17192), obtained from plant samples collected in three banana production sites in the states of Puebla, Michoacán and Oaxaca. At 14 days, the strain BASU had in average high inhibition (55.1%) in comparison to BAVE and BASO strains (45.8 and 21.7%, respectively) against the three fungal strains mentioned before. In addition, the in vitro inhibition of Paenibacillus sp. (BSP 1.1) and Serratia sp. (AC35) was also evaluated by considering three pre-inoculation timings; the strain BSP1.1 showed high inhibition (80.1%) when pre-inoculated individually seven days before the fungus and at seven days of confrontation.