First report on the use of moderately halophilic bacteria against stem canker of greenhouse tomatoes caused by Botrytis cinerea

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of moderately halophilic bacteria isolated from different Tunisian Sebkhas (hypersaline soils), on stem canker caused by Botrytis cinerea on tomato plants grown under greenhouse conditions. Treatments per-formed with moderately halophilic isolates of Bacillus subtilis J9 and Halomonas sp. K2-5 significantly reduced stem lesion expansion by 8. cinerea on tomato plants under greenhouse conditions. The use of such bacteria may constitute an important alternative to synthetic fungicides, which failed to suppress the development of the fungal pathogen.