Postharvest biological control of Penicillium digitatum decay on citrus fruit by Bacillus pumilus

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Abstract
Summary: A new antagonist/pathogen combination is reported, with Bacillus pumilus showing strong antagonistic activity against Penicillium digitatum. B. pumilus (1.6 × 1010 to 1.6 × 1012*cfu ml‐1) gave significant control of P. digitatum infection in Valencia orange, which was as effective as imazalil (500 μg ml‐1) and was significantly better than benomyl treatment (500 μg ml‐1). When lower concentrations of B. pumilus (1.9 × 107 to 1.9 × 109 cfu ml‐1) were tested on Washington Navel orange and Lisbon lemon fruit, the antagonist caused significant control of P. digitatum infection at two inoculum levels (6.5 × 104 and 6.5 × 105 spores ml‐5). Concentrations of both the pathogen and the antagonist affected the biocontrol effect.