Development of the stable liquid formulation of Burkholderia cepacia YC5025, a biocontrol agent for cucumber anthracnose

A new and effective formulation using antagonistic bacteria, Burkholderia cepacia YC5025 in vegetable oil was developed for the biocontrol of anthracnose. The bacterial population in the formulation was maintained to 5x10/sup7/ cfu/ml upto 60 days at room temperature. Control efficacy of the formulation for anthracnose was over 80％ by spraying of diluted suspension(x1,000) in growth chamber tests. On the contrary, the bacterial suspension in distilled water or bacterial culture broth containing same number of spores as the formulation had low control efficacy around 40％ even 2-weeks storage after preparation. The shelf-life of the formulation was longer than that of bacterial preparation using clay minerals such as talc or bentonite. The mechanisms of newly developed bacterial formulation are possibly the formation of water film on the surface of cucumber leaves and inactivation of the bacteria in the vegetable oils during storage. Further field tests and improvements with new liquid bacteiral formulation need to be done for practical application.