The harmfulness of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, including insect mortality and plant injury level after the application of three productive and active strains of the entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae, Lecanicillium lecanii, and Beauveria bassiana, was estimated. LC₅₀ of the M. anisopliae for second instar larvae was twice that of L. lecanii and 1.7 times higher than that of B. bassiana. The average number of damage zones on leaf surfaces after the application of fungi (5×10⁶ spores per ml) constituted 3.0 ± 0.7, 15.9 ± 4.6, and 22.4 ± 4.3 per leaf, respectively (control 67.0 ± 5.7). The total damage area of the leaves was 2.2 ± 0.4, 5.2 ± 0.9, and 4.5 ± 0.6% (control 13.7 ± 3.0%), respectively. Fungi B. bassiana and L. lecanii showed the same level of insect mortality but the number of damage zones and the total damage areas had significant differences. The most effective fungus was found to be M. anisopliae which provided higher plant protection as measured by the decrease in plant injury.

The influence of Siberian strains of bacteria Bacillus spp. on the strawberry gray mold causative agent and plant resistance to the disease in three seasons differing in growing conditions has been studied. Bacterial strains B. subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, and B. licheniformis suppress the development of the phytopathogenic fungus B. cinerea in vitro and in vivo. In addition to the antifungal action, bacterial strains show a positive effect on the growth and development of strawberry plants, indicating multifunctional properties of Siberian strains Bacillus spp.

In vitroandin vivostudies were conducted to estimate the efficacy of the two microbial formulations based onBacillus subtilisCohn. andPseudomonas fluorescensMig. on the fungusDidymella applanata(Niessl.) Sacc., the causal agent of red raspberry (Rubus idaeusL.) spur blight.In vitro, both bacteria reduced the growth ofD. applanata. In inoculation experiments with raspberry canes in two cultivars with different susceptibility toD. applanata, these antagonistic bacteria suppressed fungal development by reducing the lesions area and the number ofD. applanatafruiting bodies. Field trials of two biological formulations under natural conditions showed a significant suppression of the disease.B. subtilisandP. fluorescensincluded in the formulations revealed antagonistic activity towardsD. applanatathat depended on the red raspberry cultivar and weather conditions. In all cases,B. subtilisshowed better results thanP. fluorescensin biocontrol of the raspberry spur blight. This study demonstrated for the first time the ability of the biocontrol agentsB. subtilisandP. fluorescensto suppress red raspberry cane spur blight, a serious worldwide disease.