Brazilian researchers find bacteria that can inhibit key sugarcane disease

In Brazil, a study conducted at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) has discovered that three strains of Pseudomonas bacteria can inhibit growth, and even cause the death, of the fungus responsible for pineapple sett rot, a disease that attacks sugarcane, especially in the planting season. 

The results are reported in an article published in Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the United Kingdom’s Society for Applied Microbiology, and could serve as a basis for the development of biological fungicides as an alternative to the chemical pesticides currently used to combat the disease.