Utilization of biocontrol agents is a sustainable approach to reduce plant diseases caused by fungal pathogens. In the present study, we tested the effect of the candidate biocontrol fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (De Bary) G. Armaud on strawberry under in vitro and in vivo conditions to control crown rot, root rot and grey mould caused by Phytophthora cactorum (Lebert and Cohn) and Botrytis cinerea Pers, respectively. A dual plate confrontation assay showed that mycelial growth of P. cactorum and B. cinerea was reduced by 33–48% when challenged by A. pullulans as compared with control treatments. Likewise, detached leaf and fruit assays showed that A. pullulans significantly reduced necrotic lesion size on leaves and disease severity on fruits caused by P. cactorum and B. cinerea. In addition, greenhouse experiments with whole plants revealed enhanced biocontrol efficacy against root rot and grey mould when treated with A. pullulans either in combination with the pathogen or pre-treated with A. pullulans followed by inoculation of the pathogens. Our results demonstrate that A. pullulans is an effective biocontrol agent to control strawberry diseases caused by fungal pathogens and can be an effective alternative to chemical-based fungicides.

利用生物防治剂是减少真菌病原体引起的植物病害的可持续方法。在本研究中，我们测试了候选生物防治菌的效果出芽短梗霉（德巴里）G. Armaud对草莓下在体外和体内条件下控制冠腐病，根腐病和引起灰霉病恶疫霉（Lebert和科恩）和灰葡萄孢（Botrytis cinerea Pers）。双板对抗实验表明，与对照处理相比，当受到支链淀粉芽孢杆菌攻击时，仙人掌假单胞菌和灰质芽孢杆菌的菌丝体生长减少了33–48％。同样，分离的叶和果实测定表明，A。Pullulans显着减少了由仙人掌和灰质芽孢杆菌引起的叶片坏死病变面积和果实病害严重性。另外，当用处理过的与整株植物的温室实验揭示增强针对根腐病和灰霉的功效生物防治A.霉组合或者与病原体或与预处理A.霉随后的病原体接种。我们的结果表明，A。Pullulans是控制由真菌病原体引起的草莓病的有效生物防治剂，并且可以作为基于化学物质的杀真菌剂的有效替代品。