Mycostop - A Novel Biofungicide Based on Streptomyces Bacteria

Mycostop is a biofungicide based on a selected Streptomyces griseoviridis strain isolated from Finnish Sphagnum peat. Introduced into the soil by seed dressing or soil treatment, the microbe secretes antibiotic substances which inhibit many seed and soil-borne fungal pathogens. The biofungicide developed by Kemira Oy is produced by fermentation. It is a powder consisting of mycelium, spores and formulation additives. The number of colony forming units in the final product is 108-9/1 g. Promising results have been achieved with Mycostop on several greenhouse and field crops against many pathogens, especially Fusarium sp. In this paper only the tests carried out with carnation, cauliflower, sweet pepper and wheat are presented. The efficacy of Mycostop has been proved against damping-off on many vegetables and ornamentals by using seed dressing. Good protection against carnation wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi has been achieved by root dipping and soil spraying with Mycostop. Other important control targets, so far, are root diseases on cucumber, grey mould on lettuce and seedling and head blight on wheat caused by Fusarium culmorum.