Compositions and methods for controlling fungal and bacterial diseases in plants

1. A fungicidal composition comprising:

a) a lipopeptide-producing strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens selected from the group consisting of Bacillus subtilis QST713, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747, Bacillus subtilis MBI600, and Bacillus subtilis var. amyloliquefaciens FZB24; and

b) a compound of formula (I):

wherein

m is an integer between 1 and 20;

n is an integer between 1 and 5;

Z 1 is O; and

R 1 is a sulfate;

or a geometrical isomer, optical isomer, enantiomer, diastereoisomer, tautomer, or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof;

in a synergistically effective amount.

2. The fungicidal composition of claim 1 , wherein m is an integer between 8 and 16.

3. The fungicidal composition of claim 2 , wherein the compound is 3,6-dioxaoctadecylsulfate with the formula:

or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof.

4. The fungicidal composition of claim 2 , wherein the compound is 3,6-dioxaeicosylsulfate with the formula:

or an agriculturally acceptable salt thereof.

5. The fungicidal composition of claim 1 , wherein a weight to weight ratio of the lipopeptide-producing strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and the compound of formula (I) is about 500:1 to about 1:500.

6. The fungicidal composition of claim 5 , wherein the weight to weight ratio of the lipopeptide-producing strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and the compound of formula (I) is about 100:1 to about 1:100.

7. The fungicidal composition of claim 6 , wherein the weight to weight ratio of the lipopeptide-producing strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and the compound of formula (I) is about 25:1 to about 1:25.

8. The fungicidal composition of claim 1 , wherein the strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens is part of a fermentation product.

9. The fungicidal composition of claim 8 , wherein a concentration of lipopeptides in the fermentation product is at least 1 mg/g.

10. The fungicidal composition of claim 1 , wherein the lipopeptide from the lipopeptide-producing strain of Bacillus subtilis or Bacillus amyloliquefaciens is an iturin-type compound, a surfactin-type compound, a fengycin-type compound, or a combination thereof.

11. The fungicidal composition of claim 10 , wherein the lipopeptide is the iturin-type compound.

12. The fungicidal composition of claim 11 , wherein the iturin-type compound is bacillomycin D, bacillomycin F, bacillomycin L, bacillomycin LC (bacillopeptin), mycosubtilin, iturin A, iturin A L , or iturin C.

13. The fungicidal composition of claim 10 , wherein the lipopeptide is a fengycin-type compound.

14. The fungicidal composition of claim 13 , wherein the fengycin-type compound is fengycin A, fengycin B, plipastatin A, plipastatin B, or an agrastatin.

15. The fungicidal composition of claim 10 , wherein the lipopeptide is a surfactin-type compound.

16. The fungicidal composition of claim 15 , wherein the surfactin-type compound is esperin, lichenysin, pumilacidin, or surfactin.

17. The fungicidal composition of claim 1 , wherein the fungicidal composition is formulated as a suspension concentrate (SC), an oil dispersion (OD), or water-dispersible granules (WG).

18. A plant or plant part coated with the fungicidal composition according to claim 1 .

19. A seed treated with the fungicidal composition according to claim 1 .

20. A method of controlling fungal harmful organisms and/or bacterial harmful organisms in a plant, the method comprising applying an effective amount of the fungicidal composition of claim 1 to the plant, to a part of the plant and/or to a locus on which the plant or plant part grows or is to be planted.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fungal harmful organisms are Phytophthora infestans and/or Botrytis cinerea and/or Plasmopara viticola and/or Sphaerotheca fuliginea and/or Venturia inaequalis and/or Alternaria solani and/or Uromyces appendiculatus and/or Phakopsora pachyrhizi.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the bacterial harmful organisms are Acidovorax avenae, Burkholderia glumae and/or Xanthomonas campestris pv. oryzae in rice, Candidatus Liberibacter spec and/or Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and/or Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and/or Xylella fastidiosa in citrus, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidae in Kiwi, Xanthomonas campestris and/or Xanthomonas campestris pv. pruni in peaches, Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea and/or Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines in soybeans, Burkholderia spec and/or Xanthomonas transluscens in cereals, Pseudomonas syringae, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato and/or Xanthomonas campestris in tomatoes, Pseudomonas syringae and/or Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans in cucumbers, Erwinia atroseptica, Erwinia carotovora and/or Streptomyces scabies in potatoes.

23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the plant is apples, bananas, citrus, kiwi, melons, peaches, pears, pineapple, pome fruit, pomegranate, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, cucurbits, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, rice or soybeans.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fungicidal composition is applied as a foliar treatment.

25. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fungicidal composition is applied as a soil treatment.

26. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fungicidal composition is applied as a suspension concentrate (SC), an oil dispersion (OD), or water-dispersible granules (WG).

27. A method for treating powdery mildew, rust, leaf blotch diseases, leaf wilt diseases, root and stem diseases, ear and panicle diseases, smut fungi diseases, fruit rot, seed and soilborne decay, mould, wilt, rot and damping-off diseases, cancers galls and witches' broom, wilt diseases, leaf blister or leaf curl diseases in a plant, the method comprising applying to the plant or to a plant part the fungicidal composition of claim 1 .