Comparison of Antifungal Activity of Strains against In Vitro and In Planta.

() causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease in wheat and barley. This pathogen produces mycotoxins including deoxynivalenol (DON), the T-2 and fumorisin B1. Translocation of the mycotoxins in grains causes important losses in yields and contributes to serious health problems in humans and livestock. We tested the strains, two commercial, QST713 (Serenade) and FZB24 (TAEGRO) and one non-commercial strain EU07 as microbial biological control agents against the strain K1-4 both in vitro and in planta. The EU07 strain showed better performance in suppressing the growth of -K1-4. Cell-free bacterial cultures displayed significant antagonistic activity on -K1-4. Remarkably, heat and proteinase K treatment of bacterial broths did not reduce the antagonistic activity of cultures. DON assays showed that strain was not affected by the presence of DON in the media. Leaf and head infection assays using (Bd-21) indicated that EU07 inhibits K1-4 growth in vivo and promotes plant growth. Overall, the EU07 strain performed better, indicating that it could be explored for the molecular investigations and protection of cereal crops against FHB disease.