## 3 Results  
### Efficacy of Biocontrol Agents on In Situ Assay  
Figure 2 (combining some data published in previous works by [30] and data from this study) depicts the antagonist activity of four yeast strains and two bacteria (_C. laurentii, T. pullulans, H. uvarum, P. guillermondii, B. subtilis,_ and _P. syringae_, respectively) against five filamentous pathogenic fungi (_M. laxa, B. cinerea, P. expansum, A. niger_, and _F. oxysporum_) in \"Sweetheart\" cherries and \"Angeleno\" plums.  
Regarding _M. laxa_, which is responsible for brown rot, the four antagonistic yeasts caused partial rot inhibition in sweet cherries, reaching total inhibition when combined with SB (Figure 2D). Regarding antagonistic bacteria, _B. subtilis_ achieved total inhibition when combined with SB, as shown in Figure 2.  
For _P. expansum_, none of the antagonists demonstrated effectiveness against this mould, which causes blue rot in sweet cherries (Figure 2C). Similarly, the addition of 2% SB did not significantly reduce the decay caused by the mould. However, in \"Angeleno\" plums (Figure 2C), an antagonistic effect was observed with the combined application of _H. uvarum_ and _P. guillermondii_ along with SB. Only when combined with SB did _C. lauretii, T. pullulans_ and _P. guillermondii_ inhibited _P. expansum_ growth.  
In contrast to _F. oxysporum_, only _H. uvarum_ exhibited growth inhibition owing to a synergistic effect, similar to that observed in _M. laxa_.  
When evaluating antagonist activity in sweet cherries against _A. niger_ (Figure 2E), it was observed that _H. uvarum_ and _P. guillermondii_ partially inhibited rot development caused by these fungi, reaching total inhibition in both cases (total antagonist effect against _A. niger_). The same inhibition was observed for _A. niger_ and _H. uvarum_ combined with SB in plums (Figure 2E), although all antagonists partially inhibited _A. niger_ growth, with the exception of _B. subtilis_.  
In cherries, the inhibition of _B. cinerea_ (Figure 2A) was similar to that observed for _A. niger_ in the same fruit. _H. uvarum_ and _P. guillermondii_ presented partial rot inhibition, reaching total inhibition in combination with SB. However, treatment with 2% SB and SB combined with _C. laurentii, T. pullulans_, and _B. subtilis_ resulted in the partial inhibition of _B. cinerea_ growth, resulting in a lower incidence of losses caused by this mould.  
All antagonistic microorganisms were effective in the plums, showing an increase when the treatments were combined with SB.  
Antagonist activity varied significantly depending on the fruit. _H. uvarum_ and _P. guillermondii_ exhibited an effect in plums when combined with SB, and also for _P. guillermondii_ alone. In the cherries, no antagonistic effects were observed for any of the tested microorganisms.  
Figure 2: Antagonistic impact of four yeasts (_C. laurentii, T. pullulans, H. uvarum_, and _P. guillier-mondii_) and two bacteria (_B. subtilis_ and _P. syringae_) both individually and when combined with 2% sodium bicarbonate against five cherry (in black) and plum (in grey)-damaging fungi: ((**A**) _B. cinerea_, (**B**) _F. oxysporum_, (**C**) _P. expansum_, (**D**) _M. laxa_, and (**E**) _A. niger_). The data represent the mean. Data with the mean \(\pm\) standard error of the mean of 40 independent experiments are included in the Supplementary Materials.