PJB-2023-393
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF CUCUMBER AND RIDGE GOURD DAMPING-OFF BY FUNGAL AND BACTERIAL ANTAGONIST
Ghulam Sarwar Shah
Abstract
Chemical fungicides are accessible in the market to manage damping-off diseases, it's worth noting their negative impacts on crop physiology, including photosynthesis, environmental factors, and human health. As a result, there is a growing interest in biological control as a viable alternative or method for reducing the use of agrochemicals. In the present study, we utilized nine strains of Bacillus, two species of Trichoderma (T. harzianum and T. polysporum), and Paecilomyces variotii against Pythium aphanidermatum under laboratory conditions. These biological control agents (BCAs) were also employed alone or in combination against P. aphanidermatum in a pot experiment. The results revealed that two Bacillus strains, OI07 (39.3%) and OI15 (33.7%), exhibited the highest growth inhibition zones (GIZs) as compared to other strains. The dual culture test exhibited that T. harzianum was the most efficient fungal biocontrol agent, exhibiting the highest inhibition percentage (34.6%) against P. aphanidermatum, followed by T. polysporum (31.7%) and P. variotii (24.4%). The results of the pot experiment indicated that the combination of T. harzianum and Bacillus at (105 cfu per ml) was the most successful in suppressing pre- and post-emergence damping-off. The treatment of T. polysporum+Bacillus strains at the same concentration also resulted in maximum seed germination. Furthermore, the plants treated with T. harzianum+Bacillus strains exhibited the highest plant measurements, such as root or shoot length and weight. This was followed by the T. polysporum+Bacillus strains treatment. In contrast, the treatment of Paecilomyces variotii+Bacillus strains was found to be moderately effective at low, medium, and higher doses.
Keywords: Oomycetes, Pythium aphanidermatum, Biological control, Bacillus, Trichoderma, Paecilomyces
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