Endophytic microbes conferring biocontrol are an eco-friendly alternative to control diseases in crops. Unfortunately, the use of endophytes to control diseases is not yet widespread as their application in agricultural settings is challenging and the outcome variable. Translating strains that perform well under laboratory conditions to the field poses several challenges. One is large scale inoculum production in a cost-effective manner. Here, we developed a framework to scale up inoculum production of Fusarium oxysporum 47 (Fo47), assess inoculum viability and its performance in the field and effects on potato yield and performance. The Fo47 endophyte is a well-described biocontrol agent, isolated from disease suppressive soils in the 1980’s. Using mung bean medium, we could routinely produce ≈7 × 10⁸ spores/mL. Using 60 mL of 10⁷ spores/mL per tuber we could re-isolate the fungus 79 days after application from 60 to 70% of the inoculated plants in a large-scale potato field trial (Clenze, Germany). Furthermore, this protocol can be used to assess Fo47 biocontrol potential under field conditions. The presence of the fungus did not negatively affect plant yield or starch production and did not increase susceptibility to endemic pathogens.

赋予生物防治作用的内生微生物是控制农作物疾病的一种生态友好型替代品。不幸的是，由于内生菌在疾病控制中的应用具有挑战性且结果可变，因此内生菌控制疾病的应用尚未广泛。将在实验室条件下表现良好的菌株转化为田地带来了一些挑战。一种是以经济有效的方式大规模生产接种物。在这里，我们开发了一个框架来扩大尖孢镰刀菌47（Fo47）的接种量，评估接种物的活力及其在田间的性能以及对马铃薯产量和性能的影响。Fo47内生菌是一种广为人知的生物防治剂，于1980年代从抑制疾病的土壤中分离出来。使用绿豆培养基，我们通常可以生产≈7×10⁸孢子/ mL。在大型马铃薯田间试验（德国克伦茨）中，每块茎使用60 mL 10 ⁷孢子/ mL，我们可以在接种后79天从60％到70％的已接种植物中重新分离真菌。此外，该协议可用于评估田间条件下的Fo47生物防治潜力。真菌的存在不会对植物产量或淀粉产量产生负面影响，也不会增加对地方病原体的敏感性。