2003 Volume 47 Issue 1 Pages 34-41
Microorganisms were isolated from mango leaves of each developmental stage using the dilution plate method, and the shift of microflora during the developmental stages was examined. Furthermore, microflora in the atmosphere of the green house was investigated and compared with that in the phyllosphere. Due to the presence of bacteria, pigments were frequently isolated both in the air and leaves of each developmental stage. For the Gram stainability, the ratio of positive and negative was almost the same in the air, although Gram-negative bacteria predominated on living leaves and shifted to positive ones on litter leaves. As for the fungal flora, various kinds of fungi were collected in the air which showed a complex flora, while the flora on the leaves was simpler.CladosporiumandPenicilliumspecies were isolated from both air and leaves of each developmental stage. The bacterial and fungal isolates on the leaves or in the air were exposed toColletotrichum gloeosporioides, the causal agent of mango anthracnose and antagonistic ability was tested. Although a few fungi displayed a strong antagonism to bacteria, many fungi such as those from the genusPenicilliuminhibited hyphal growth of the pathogen, withP. citrinumandP. expansumshowing the strongest effect. It is concluded that the antifungal mechanism was due to antifungal substances because the culture filtrates of these fungi also showed a strong antagonism.
