Bioefficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens on Burrowing Nematode, Radopholus similis in Banana

Strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens native to India were isolated from the rhizosphere of healthy banana and tested for their efficacy to manage Radopholus similis infesting banana. All the 40 isolates of P. fluorescens tested increased germination and vigour index of rice under roll towel and pot culture conditions. In in vitro studies, the most promising isolates, PfB 13, PfB 19, PfB 24, PfB 32, PfB 35 and PfB 39, caused significant mortality of R. similis female, with the largest mortality of 82% occurring after 72 h exposure to 100% culture filtrate of PfB 13. In a glasshouse experiment, maximum increase in plant growth of banana was observed in pots treated with PfB13 isolate. Root and soil population and root lesion index was significantly decreased with PfB13 and these were at par with Pf1 and carbofuran treatment compared to control.