Impact of grain treatments with bioagents for suppressing foliar diseases severity of three wheat cultivars under field conditions

Abstract

Field trials in two sowing dates were conducted to assess the possibility of applying bioagents as wheat grain dressing for suppressing severity of foliage diseases, i.e. powdery mildew, septoria leaf blotch and stem rust under field conditions. Bioagents, such as Bacillus subtilis, Azospirillum brasilense, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Trichoderma harzianum and Plant Guard as well as the fungicide Topsin M70, were evaluated. All treatments reduced diseases severity compared with control. Generally, Giza 171 cv. represented the lowest diseases severity followed by Misr 1 and Gemmiza 12. Moreover, early sown cultivars (10th November) showed lower disease severity than those sown late (10th December). Wheat grains treated with B. subtilis and T. harzianum revealed the highest effect on all diseases severity followed by the other applied treatments. Overall, such applied treatments have the possibility to suppress wheat foliar diseases as a safe alternative to chemical fungicides and avoid harmful effect for human health and polluting the environment.