Bacillus velezensis SBB80 affects the development of Fusarium and Neocosmospora species and controls Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) larvae

Bacillus velezensis is a species of gram-positive spore-forming bacteria that has gained prominence in agricultural use, especially to control fungi and phytopathogenic nematodes. This work aimed to: i) carry out the morphological, molecular, biochemical and physiological characterization of a Brazilian B. velezensis strain (SBB80); ii) evaluate its antagonistic potential against eight isolates of Fusarium spp. and two of Neocosmospora spp.; iii) and determine its toxic effect on larvae of six insect pests from the order Lepidoptera. As a result, the SBB80 strain was able to synthesize siderophores, antimicrobial lipopeptides as surfactin and fengycin, exopolysaccharides at 28 °C, and the enzymes protease, lipase, cellulase, catalase and phosphatase, inhibiting the growth of the eight Fusarium isolates (51.01 % to 61.82 % inhibition), the two Neocosmospora isolates (57.84 % and 73.80 % inhibition), and control Diatraea saccharalis caterpillars (77.08 % mortality) after 7 days. These results show that the B. velezensis SBB80 strain has great potential to be used in the field for the management of pests and diseases and greenhouse and field studies must be conducted to validate its efficiency.