BIOCONTROL OF THREE FUNGAL DISEASES OF SUGARCANE IN GREENHOUSES USING STRAINS OF PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS AND BACILLUS SUBTILIS ISOLATED FROM THE RHIZOSPHERE OF SUGARCANE IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is a key crop for the economy of Côte d’Ivoire. However, domestic production remains insufficient to meet domestic demand, resulting in a sugar deficit for the country. This low productivity is largely due to fungal diseases. It is against this backdrop that this study was conducted, the overall objective of which was to evaluate the efficacy of two bacterial supernatants, based on Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens, against the diseases red blight, pokkah boeng and sugarcane charcoal in a greenhouse setting. To this end, 150 samples of apparently healthy sugarcane cutting organs were collected from sugarcane plantations in the Zuenoula and Borotoukoro sugar complexes for use in the nurseries. Antifungal tests were then carried out in greenhouses against Fusarium verticillioides, Fusarium subglutinans and Schizophyllum commune in the presence of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis. The results indicated that the strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis were able to significantly reduce the severity of the diseases observed, with reduction rates of 80.95 ± 2.3 per cent, 80.95 ± 2.3 per cent and 82.80 ± 5.2 per cent for charcoal, pokkah boeng and red blight, respectively. These results suggest that Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens, when tested under field conditions, could be used effectively as biocontrol agents against fungal diseases affecting sugarcane crops in Côte d’Ivoire.