3.5. Tomato storage test
After determining the optimal medium composition and culture conditions, the antifungal activity of BT4 for tomato storage was tested.
In previous researches, tomato storage tests were performed both after 16 days, when tomatoes were beginning to become soft and to wrinkled (Giovanelli et al., 1999), and 21 days (Liu et al., 2007).
Here in this study, we used 15 and 30 days to make sure to get reliable results. Rotting rate results of ZaoFeng 1 (Table 4 and Fig. 4) showed that, compared with the control group, the group treated with antagonistic bacteria were reduced 20% after 15 days of storage and 16.6% after 30 days.
Iprodione treatment showed a 10% reduction after 15 days of storage, and no effect after 30 days of storage.
Both antagonistic bacteria treatment and iprodione treatment were effective, with preventive rates at 15 and 30 days of storage, although antagonistic bacteria
were more efficient than iprodione.
The preventive rate of antagonistic bacteria treatment reached 50% in 15 days of storage, although it was reduced to 40.8% at 30 days.
The preventive rate for iprodione treatment increased from 10% at 15 days of storage
to 19.9% at 30 days of storage.
For XiYou 5 (Table 4 and Fig. 5), the rotting rates after antagonistic bacteria treatment were reduced 10% after 15 days of storage; iprodione treatment reduced rates 13.3% after 15 days of storage.
Both treatments showed a 13.4% reduction at 30 days of storage.
The preventive rate of antagonistic bacteria treatment reached 40% at 15 days of storage, and was reduced to 30.5% at 30 days.
Iprodione treatment showed no effect at either 15 or 30 days of storage.