Antagonistic activity of bacteria isolated from crops cultivated in a rotation system and a monoculture against Pythium debaryanum and Fusarium oxysporum

The effect of crop rotation and monocropping on the occurrence of bacteria with antagonistic activity toward Pythium debaryanum and Fusarium oxysporum was shown. Arthrobacter spp., fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. and actinomycetes were isolated from winter rape, sugar beet and winter barley rhizosphere and bulk soil from the plots of a long-term crop rotation experiment (18 years). The occurrence of mycoantagonistic isolates and their antibiosis level exhibited specificity for the site, crop and crop rotation. Mycoantagonistic activity was common among actinomycetes and fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. and less frequent among Arthrobacter spp. Antibiosis of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. and Arthrobacter spp. was in general stronger against P. debaryanum than F. oxysporum. The highest percentage of antagonistic Pseudomonas spp. against P. debaryanum was in the plots of barley crop, while plots of winter rape showed higher frequency of antagonists against F. oxysporum. The highest antibiosis activity of Arthrobacter spp. against both pathogens occurred in isolates from barley and winter rape monoculture, and there were no F. oxysporum antagonists among these bacteria in sugar beet monoculture. Most of actinomycete isolates strongly inhibited growth of P. debaryanum and F. oxysporum. The percentage of mycoantagonistic actinomycetes and their antibiosis level were the highest in the 6-year crop rotation system.