Evaluation of Potential Microbial Antagonists Against Root-Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in Noni, Morinda citrifolia

Pot and field studies were conducted to assess the effects of biocontrol agents viz., Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescence and Trichoderma viride against Meloidogyne incognita infecting Morinda citrifolia L. Experimental results revealed that upon combined application of all the biocontrol agents along with chitin increased the plant growth parameters and fruit yield (139.68 kg/tree) by 54.32 per cent over control in the field. Minimum nematode infestation in terms of soil nematode population (154 J₂/250 cc soil) and gall index (1.2) was recorded in trees applied with the consortium. Qualitative analysis revealed high amount of Vitamin C (917.97 mg/100g) and antioxidant content (1.53 mg/g) in the consortial treatment compared to the control (97.56 mg/100g and 0.98 mg/g respectively). There was considerable increase in total sugars (16.40%) in the consortium treated fruits than the control (10.25%).