The use of living organisms or natural enemies of pathogens to control
their populations is called biological disease control. It involves
harnessing and introduction of exotic species of microorganism in a
natural form, with the intention of controlling pathogens that may
exist naturally in the same ecosystem. Prospects for biological control
of Aspergillus flavus , Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium italicum
were investigated using Streptomyces spp. isolated from Chinhoyi
University of Technology Farm soils in Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe.
Twenty seven Streptomyces spp were obtained from the soil, and screened
for antimicrobial activity and antagonism in in vitro pathogen
inhibition assays, replicated thrice. Although majority of the isolates
tested elicited no effect on test pathogens, 22% of the Streptomyces
isolates were able to effectively suppress A. flavus, F. oxysporum and
P. italicum by at least 55%. There was a significant interaction
between Streptomyces isolates and pathogen (A. flavus, F. oxysporum and
P. italicum) (P<0.05) on fungal radial growth at days 7, 10 and 14
after pathogen-Streptomyces incubation. Antimicrobial potential against
individual and multiple test pathogens was observed, with
CUT-Streptomyces 4, CUT-Streptomyces 10, CUT-Streptomyces 11,
CUT-Streptomyces 20 and CUT-Streptomyces 23 showing the greatest
antimicrobial activity. CUT-Streptomyces isolates have the potential to
suppress A. flavus, F. oxysporum and P. italicum in vitro.L\u2019utilisation d\u2019organismes vivants ou d\u2019ennemis
naturels d\u2019agents pathog\ue8nes pour contr\uf4ler leurs
populations est appel\ue9e contr\uf4le biologique des maladies. Il
s\u2019agit d\u2019exploiter et d\u2019introduire des esp\ue8ces
exotiques de microorganismes sous une forme naturelle, dans le but de
contr\uf4ler les agents pathog\ue8nes pouvant exister naturellement
dans le m\ueame \ue9cosyst\ue8me. Les perspectives de lutte
biologique contre Aspergillus flavus , Fusarium oxysporum et
Penicillium italicum ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9tudi\ue9es \ue0
l\u2019aide de Streptomyces spp. isol\ue9es des sols agricoles de
l\u2019Universit\ue9 de Technologie de Chinhoyi \ue0 Mashonaland
West, Zimbabwe. Vingt-sept Streptomyces spp ont \ue9t\ue9 obtenus
du sol et cribl\ue9s pour l\u2019activit\ue9 antimicrobienne et
l\u2019antagonisme dans des tests d\u2019inhibition des agents
pathog\ue8nes in vitro, r\ue9pliqu\ue9s trois fois. Bien que la
majorit\ue9 des isolats test\ue9s ne provoquent aucun effet sur les
agents pathog\ue8nes test\ue9s, 22% des isolats de Streptomyces
sont capables de supprimer efficacement au moins 55% des A. flavus, F.
oxysporum et P. italicum. Il y avait une interaction significative
entre les isolats de Streptomyces et l\u2019agent pathog\ue8ne (A.
flavus, F. oxysporum et P. italicum) (P< 0.05) lors de la croissance
radiale des champignons aux 7\ue8me, 10\ue8me et 14\ue8me jours
apr\ue8s l\u2019incubation de l\u2019agent
pathog\ue8ne-Streptomyces. Un potentiel antimicrobien contre des
agents pathog\ue8nes individuels et multiples a \ue9t\ue9
observ\ue9. CUT-Streptomyces 4, CUT-Streptomyces 10, CUT-Streptomyces
11, CUT-Streptomyces 20 et CUT-Streptomyces 23 ont montr\ue9
l\u2019activit\ue9 antimicrobienne la plus \ue9lev\ue9e. Les
isolats de CUT-Streptomyces ont le potentiel de supprimer A. flavus, F.
oxysporum et P. italicum in vitro