Apple ring rot disease, caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex. Fr) Ces. et de Not., is one of the most important diseases on apple fruits. In this study, strain 9001 isolated from healthy apple fruits from an infested orchard was evaluated for its biocontrol activity against apple ring rot in vitro and in vivo. Strain 9001 showed obvious antagonistic activity to B. dothidea YL-1 when plated on potato dextrose agar. Soaking healthy apples in the bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 prior to artificial inoculation of fungal pathogen resulted in a dramatic decrease in disease incidence when compared to the control. Moreover, either field application in the growth season or postharvest treatment of apples from infected orchards with bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 resulted in significantly reduced disease incidence within the storage period for 4 months at room temperature. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and the gyrA gene, strain 9001 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. These results indicated that B. amyloliquefaciens 9001 could be a promising agent in biocontrol of apple ring rot on fruit, which might help to minimize the yield loss of apple fruit during the long postharvest period.
Keywords: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens; Botryosphaeria dothidea; apple; biological control.