1Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar- 608002, Tamil Nadu, India
2Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore- 641003, Tamil Nadu, India E-mail: muthu78ap@yahoo.co.in
Three bacterial antagonists, viz. Pseudomonas fluorescent, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis, were evaluated against Fusarium oxysporum, the cause of tuber rot in tuberose (Polyanthes tuberosa L.) in vitro and in glasshouse conditions. In dual culture P. fluorescens reduced the growth of pathogen to an extent of 51.78 per cent over control, while S. marcescens and B. subtilis reduced the growth of the pathogen to the extent of 48.75 and 41.76 per cent over control, respectively. Tuber treatment with talc based formulation of P. fluorescens, S. marcescens and B. subtilis @ 10g kg−1 significantly enhanced the germination percentage of tuberose under glasshouse conditions. Among the bacterial antagonists tested, P. fluorescens @ 10g kg−1 significantly reduced the incidence of tuber rot (67.81 % over control) at 80 days after planting and increased the shoot and root length by 127.67 per cent and 128.13 per cent over control.
Bacillus subtilis, Fusarium oxysporum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Serratia marcescens, tuberose, tuber rot
