Abstract:
Citriculture finds favorable climate conditions for its development in
the northwest region of the state of São Paulo - Brazil, effectively
contributing to the regional economy, generating income for
producers and employment for its inhabitants. Citrus cancer is
an important disease that affects citrus. Caused by the bacterium
Xanthomonascitri, subspecies citri, this phytopathology is spread
by the action of nature, contaminated seedlings and mainly human
action during cultural treatments. Cancer lesions can be found on
leaves, branches, and fruits, and their spread in the orchard can
occur to neighboring plants, contaminating the entire cultivated
area if proper phytosanitary care is not taken. There is no specific
control for citrus cancer, and the use of management techniques
and the use of some products that mitigate economic losses are
suggested. Among these management practices, we can mention
the eradication of the infected plant, preventing it from contaminating
the neighborhood. Chemical control uses copper-based products to
protect the fruits from injury, bactericides to disinfect the boxes used
in the harvest so that there is no greater contamination in the rest of
the orchard. In this work, we isolated microorganisms from lesions
found in lemon fruits. Samples extracted from the lesions were
inoculated in nutrient agar by striatal technique to isolate colonies.
After growth, two of these strains were selected for the growth
inhibition tests by the minimum concentration in the liquid medium.
The results demonstrated the efficiency in growth inhibition when
increasing concentrations of peracetic acid and copper were used.
Aqueous extracts of pomegranate (Punicagranatum L.) showed a
potential inhibitory effect on bacterial growth.
