PREVENTIVE AND CURATIVE CONTROL OF Oidium eucalypti IN Eucalyptus benthamii CLONAL SEEDLINGS

ABSTRACT One of the main diseases occurring in clonal nurseries of Eucalyptus spp. is powdery mildew caused by the fungus Oidium eucalypti. This work evaluated the efficiency of biological products based on Trichoderma spp. and Bacillus spp. applied as preventive and curative treatments for the control of Oidium eucalypti in clonal seedlings of E. benthamii Maiden et Cambage. Treatments were: Trichoderma harzianum (THP), T. atroviride (TAI), T. harzianum (THE), Trichoderma spp. (TTA), Bacillus spp. (BNE), Sulfur (KUM), Difenoconazol (SCO) and distilled water (AD). Treatments were applied preventively by spraying seven days before inoculation of the pathogen, and in curatively, ten days after inoculation. Weekly evaluations of the incidence and severity of the disease were done. The analyzed variables were: Disease Index (ID) and Incidence (I), calculating the area under the disease curve (AUDPC) for each treatment. The results pointed BNE (Bacillus spp.) and TAI (isolate T. atroviride) as effective preventive treatments and BNE (Bacillus spp.), applied curatively for the control of O. eucalypti in E. benthamii seedlings, proving that treatments based on biological products may be effective for controlling eucalyptus powdery mildew in clonal nurseries.