EVALUATION OF CARRIER MATERIALS TO DEVELOP BACILLUS SUBTILIS FORMULATION TO CONTROL ROOT KNOT NEMATODE INFECTION AND PROMOTE AGROECONOMIC TRAITS IN EGGPLANT - A. Ibrahim; A. A. Shahid; A. Ahmad (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2017)
Preparation of inducer inoculum in the most suitable carrier material is imperative to get full benefit from inducer species under field conditions. Present study mainly focuses upon the evaluation of supportive behavior of carrier materials (i.e. sand, saw-dust, bagasse, talc and bentonite) toward Bacillus subtilis in controlling Meloidogyne incognita, Root Knot Nematode (RKN) of brinjal crop. Inoculum of bacterial inducer was prepared in five different carriers and incubated at room temperature for 0, 10, 20…80 days. Then, Field applications of the treatment revealed that bagasse was the best carrier material, which not only controlled the disease but also enhanced the growth of brinjal plants. Furthermore, the second most efficient carrier was saw-dust, while efficiency was gradually descended in an order, talc > sand > bentonite. Although bagasse showed maximum efficacy in term of disease control and growth promotion of plants. However, it did not support the number leaf hair leaving the plant vulnerable to foliar insect pest. Saw-dust based formulations are recommended for the areas where insect attack is most common on foliar parts of the crop because it enhanced the number of leaf hair significantly. Current investigation is a contribution in managing nematode plant diseases using environmentally safe ‘biocontrol agents’. Present study is a major contribution in plant disease control program and might be a significant plant protection strategy in future.
Keywords: journal article; Root knot nematode; Agroeconomic traits; Disease severity; Inducer; Innate resistance