Non-Peer ReviewedFungal pathogens causing disease in cereal crops result in considerable economic losses for producers across western Canada. Cultural practices including crop rotation and fungicide use are recommended for their control. At present, the use of chemical fungicide has fallen out of favour due to the possibility of chemical residues in food, impact on non-target organisms and worker exposure. For these reasons, biological control may be a viable alternative if effective microorganisms can be identified. The objective of this study was to isolate, screen and characterize microorganisms from soil and crop residues that could antagonize cereal pathogenic fungi and lead to the development of biological control agents for important cereal pathogens
