Plant Growth Promotion and Suppression of Web Blight Disease of Cowpea by Native Rhizobacterial Strains of Bacillus subtilis singly or in Combination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Author: Samrat Paul, Susmita Pati, Anindita Patwari, Subrata Dutta, R. Mandal, Ashis Roy Barman and Sujit Kumar Ray

Download PDF

Abstract

The exploitation of antagonistic microbial populations could be the answer for the eco-friendly and successful management of plant diseases. In the present study, the efficacy of native rhizobacterial strains of Bacillus subtilis (PR-19 and B-11) solely or in consortia with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (strain GP8) was evaluated for the improvement of plant health and management of web blight disease in cowpea. The application of microbial consortia Bacillus subtilis (B-11) with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (GP8) through talc-based bioformulation showed 41.72% and 45.29% percentage disease control in 2020 and 2021, respectively, suggesting the potential of utilizing location-specific inoculation strains to obtain an optimum symbiotic benefit. The plant growth and yield parameters of cowpea plants were significantly increased in the treatments comprising PGPR-based bioformulations as compared to the chemical fungicide (Carbendazim 50% WP) and control treatments. The combination of seed treatment followed by soil application of consortia (B-11 and GP-8) performed very well at the field level for enhancing plant growth as well as suppressing web blight disease and increasing the yield of cowpea crops. Further research should be carried out on the shelf-life and cost-effectiveness of the prepared bioformulation, as well as their feasibility to be used in integrated disease management programs.

Keywords

Web blight, biocontrol, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, PGPR, sustainable agriculture

Conclusion

In the present study, different strains of Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa based bio formulations were used alone or in combination. The field trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of the prepared bioformulations on the plant growth parameters and Web Blight disease of cowpea caused by R. solani Wested & Wallays. The result showed that better disease control occurred when combinations of the different PGPR-based bioformulations were used. The plant growth attributes like plant height, root length, number of branches per plant, and number of leaves per plant after 30 DAS and 60 DAS were also significantly improved under consortial application of Bacillus as compared to sole application of Bacillus, chemical application, and control. The Highest nodulation per plant after 50 DAS was registered in treatment B-11+GP-8, i.e., Bacillus sp. with fluorescent Pseudomonas, than all other treatments. Lower web blight disease incidence and higher vegetative pod yield of cowpea were recorded by the plot treated with consortia of B-11+GP-8, whereas the lowest yield was recorded in the control plot. Therefore, the combined application of Bacillus sp. and fluorescent Pseudomonas both as seed treatment and soil application may be used in the development of integrated disease management strategies for different crops in the near future as a step towards environmental as well as agricultural sustainability.

References

-

How to cite this article

Samrat Paul, Susmita Pati, Anindita Patwari, Subrata Dutta, R. Mandal, Ashis Roy Barman and Sujit Kumar Ray (2024). Plant Growth Promotion and Suppression of Web Blight Disease of Cowpea by Native Rhizobacterial Strains of Bacillus subtilis singly or in Combination with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(1): 274-281.