Screening Biocontrol Agents for Cash Crop Fusarium Wilt Based on Fusaric Acid Tolerance and Antagonistic Activity against Fusarium oxysporum .

Fusarium wilt, caused by , is one of the most notorious diseases of cash crops. The use of microbial fungicides is an effective measure for controlling Fusarium wilt, and the genus is an important resource for the development of microbial fungicides. Fusaric acid (FA) produced by can inhibit the growth of , thus affecting the control efficacy of microbial fungicides. Therefore, screening FA-tolerant biocontrol may help to improve the biocontrol effect on Fusarium wilt. In this study, a method for screening biocontrol agents against Fusarium wilt was established based on tolerance to FA and antagonism against . Three promising biocontrol bacteria, named B31, F68, and 30833, were obtained to successfully control tomato, watermelon, and cucumber Fusarium wilt. Strains B31, F68, and 30833 were identified as by phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA, , and gene sequences. Coculture assays revealed that strains B31, F68, and 30833 showed increased tolerance to and its metabolites compared with strain FZB42. Further experiments confirmed that 10 µg/mL FA completely inhibited the growth of strain FZB42, while strains B31, F68, and 30833 maintained normal growth at 20 µg/mL FA and partial growth at 40 µg/mL FA. Compared with strain FZB42, strains B31, F68, and 30833 exhibited significantly greater tolerance to FA.