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Experimental bacterial strain formulations for the control of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis)

 


Citation :- Experimental bacterial strain formulations for the control of apple scab (Venturia inaequalis). Res. Crop. 26: 707-714
GYRNETS ELENA YURIEVNA, ASATUROVA ANZHELA MICHAYLOVNA AND TSYGICHKO ALEKSANDRA ALEKSANDROVNA alena_fox95@mail.ru
Address : Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Federal Research Center of Biological Plant Protection» (FSBSI FRCBPP), Krasnodar, Russia
Submitted Date : 13-11-2025
Accepted Date : 11-12-2025

Abstract

Apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) is a globally destructive disease of apple trees. Sustainable alternatives to synthetic fungicides are urgently needed. This study assessed the efficacy of five experimental bacterial-based formulations for controlling apple scab in two-year small-scale field trials. The experimental formulations containing Bacillus cereus BZR 736, Brevundimonas naejangsanensis BZR 1159, Achromobacter marplatensis BZR 926, Bacillus velezensis BZR 277, B. velezensis BZR 936 were applied to apple trees over the 2023-24 growing seasons. Treatments were sprayed five times per season and compared with water control and a commercial biofungicide (Fitosporin-M, SC 2.5 L/ha, containing Bacillus subtilis 26D). A comparative analysis of the 2023-24 data confirmed that the experimental formulations maintained stable efficacy even under elevated disease pressure. The formulations based on B. velezensis BZR 277 and B. velezensis BZR 936 consistently provided robust protection, with leaf efficacy exceeding 60.0% and fruit protection surpassing 59.0%. The formulation containing A. marplatensis BZR 926, which showed a positive trend in fruit protection, ultimately reaching an efficacy level comparable to the reference product. Conversely, the protective effect of the B. cereus BZR 736 formulation was unstable across seasons. Furthermore, B. naejangsanensis BZR 1159 demonstrated negligible activity against apple scab. These results highlight that B. velezensis BZR 277 and BZR 936 as the most promising candidates for the development of new, reliable biofungicides, which could significantly reduce dependence on chemical pesticides within integrated apple disease management programs.

Keywords

Apple scab Bacillus velezensis biological control biopesticide disease management Venturia inaequalis

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