%0 Journal Article
%T Effect of Commercial Cyanobacteria Products on the Growth and Antagonistic Ability of Some Bioagents under Laboratory Conditions
%A Nehal S. El-Mougy
%A Mokhtar M. Abdel-Kader
%J Journal of Pathogens
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/838329
%X Evaluation of the efficacy of blue-green algal compounds against the growth of either pathogenic or antagonistic microorganisms as well as their effect on the antagonistic ability of bioagents was studied under in vitro conditions. The present study was undertaken to explore the inhibitory effect of commercial algal compounds, Weed-Max and Oligo-Mix, against some soil-borne pathogens. In growth medium supplemented with these algal compounds, the linear growth of pathogenic fungi decreased by increasing tested concentrations of the two algal compounds. Complete reduction in pathogenic fungal growth was observed at 2% of both Weed-Max and Oligo-Mix. Gradual significant reduction in the pathogenic fungal growth was caused by the two bioagents and by increasing the concentrations of algal compounds Weed-Max and Oligo-Mix. The present work showed that commercial algal compounds, Weed-Max and Oligo-Mix, have potential for the suppression of soil-borne fungi and enhance the antagonistic ability of fungal, bacterial, and yeast bio-agents. 1. Introduction Several commercially available products have shown significant disease reduction through various mechanisms to reduce pathogen development and disease. Different approaches may be used to prevent, mitigate, or control plant diseases. Beyond good agronomic and horticultural practices, growers often rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Such inputs to agriculture have contributed significantly to the spectacular improvements in crop productivity and quality over the past 100 years. However, the environmental pollution caused by excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals, as well as fear-mongering by some opponents of pesticides, has led to considerable changes in people¡¯s attitudes towards the use of pesticides in agriculture. Application of biological control using antagonistic microorganisms has proved to be successful for controlling various plant diseases [1]. However, it is still not easy and costly in application. It can serve as the best control measure under green-house conditions. The concern of pesticide use with respect to human health and environment has brought increasing interest in alternatives by avoiding negative effects on the environment. Today, there are strict regulations on chemical pesticide use, and there is political pressure to remove the most hazardous chemicals from the market. Recently algal are one of the chief biological agents that have been studied for the control of plant pathogenic fungi, particularly soil-borne disease [2]. For example, cyanobacteria (blue-green
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jpath/2013/838329/