Control of Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea on Apples and Pears with the Combination of Candida sake and Pantoea agglomerans
The effectiveness of Candida sake (CPA-1) in combination with Pantoea agglomerans (CPA-2) for controlling Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea on pears and apples was determined. The concentrations tested were 2 × 106 and 2 × 107 CFU/ml for C. sake and 2 × 107 and 8 × 107 CFU/ml for P. agglomerans. At room temperature, the two antagonists were combined in proportions of 0 to 100% in 25% increments. At the proportion of 50:50, no rot development was observed in pears, and the greatest control of blue mold in apples was observed at this proportion for all the tested concentrations. Under cold temperature on pears, the highest effectiveness of the mixture was observed when C. sake at 2 × 107 CFU/ml was combined with P. agglomerans at 2 × 107 or at 8 × 107 CFU/ml at the proportion 50:50. Under these conditions, no rot development of blue mold was reported, and gray mold lesion size was reduced by more than 95%. On apples, the mixture of C. sake at 2 × 107 CFU/ml and P. agglomerans at 8 × 107 CFU/ml at the proportion 50:50 reduced blue and gray mold incidence by 90%. Populations of the two antagonists had the same growth pattern at 20°C when they were applied individually or in combination, but the population level was always higher when they grew alone. In contrast, at 1°C, the population of both antagonists in combination formed a stable community with the same levels as individual application during the first 30 days; after that, C. sake dominated, and P. agglomerans decreased on apples and pears. At both temperatures, the maximum population level of C. sake was observed in apples, and the maximum population level of P. agglomerans was observed in pears.