). Re-isolation of all the five biocontrol organisms in their respective growth medium with antibiotics in which they were resistant indicate their direct involvement in the controlling process. Also a sufficient CFU count ranging 5 _ 105–5 _ 106 per gram of fruit surface homogenate on re-isolation medium proved their efficacy as biocontrol agents. The inhibitory action of the five biocontrol strains on R. stolonifer VBAM1 was also evidentially proved when clear mycelial disintegration
and damage was observed in scanning electron micrographs of the pathogen upon treatment with either B. cenocepacia VBC7, P. poae VBK1 or three strains of L. lactis subsp. Lactis (Fig. 7B–F) compared to its untreated control (Fig. 7A) where intact mycelial structures were observed. Such degradation was probably due to chitinase or b-glucanase as observed in other biocontrol organisms (Quecine et al., 2008).