Effectiveness of tailocins produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c in controlling the bacterial-spot disease in tomatoes caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria.

The development of alternatives for the use of chemical pesticides for plant disease control is the present-day and ongoing challenge for achieving sustainable agriculture. Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c, native strain from wheat, produces tailocins (phage-tail-like bacteriocins) with antimicrobial activity against several phytopathogenic strains. We thus investigated the efficacy of foliar application of these bacteriocins to control the bacterial-spot disease in tomato caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria Xcv Bv5-4a.