Actinomycetes antagonists to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz. in lemon cultivation in Villa Clara, Cuba

Abstract

The lemon (Citrus aurantifolia) crop is susceptible to attack by phytopathogens, which are controlled with chemical molecules. An alternative to reverse the ecological damage caused by these chemicals is biological control. The aim of this study was to select strains of actinomycetes with antagonistic activity to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. It was determined the antagonistic activity in vitro of 181 strains of actinomycetes, belonging to the Chemical Bioactive Center's strain, against C. gloeosporioides; as well as, the extracellular enzymatic activity of the strains that showed better antagonistic effect. From the total of evaluated strains, 62 showed antagonistic capacity manifested against C. gloeosporioides, indicating that they have the potential to be evaluated in vitro and in vivo against different lemon phytopathogens.

Keywords

• enzyme activity
• anthracnose
• biocontrol
• citrus aurantifolia
• inhibition