Yeast Potential for the Biological Control of Colletotrichum musae

One of the factors that cause the greatest loss of fruit in post-harvest are diseases, especially rotting such as anthracnose. Therefore, this work aimed to test the potential of the yeasts Candida albicans, Pichia guilliermondii, Rhodotorula glutinis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cryptococcus laurentii and Zygoascus hellenicus in the control of Colletotrichum musae in bananas in post-harvest period. To test the potential of these yeasts, the effect of volatile and non-volatile compounds, culture pairing and spore germination of the fungus C. musae in vitro was evaluated. In post-harvest fruits, the area below the mycelial growth curve (AACCM) and the area below the disease progress curve (AACPD) were evaluated. The yeasts C. albicans, R. glutinis, S. cerevisiae and P. guilliermondii produced volatile compounds with antifungal action, reducing the development of the fungus in vitro. The yeast R. glutinis was shown to be more efficient in reducing mycelial growth in vitro of the fungus through the production of non-volatile compounds. The yeasts C. albicans and P. guilliermondii showed the presence of an inhibition halo. All yeasts induced the germination of C. musae conidia and were not efficient in controlling anthracnose in vivo.