Management of Bacterial Wilt disease of Brinjal by P. fluorescens Based Bioformulation: Experimental Investigation

Abstract

This experiment was carried out to explore the potentiality of an indigenous strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens as a bio-control agent in the management of bacterial wilt disease of brinjal under local conditions. Bacterial wilt is a major threat to brinjal production. Different organic materials were evaluated for their potential as substrate carriers in the formulation of P. fluorescens based biopesticide. It was discovered that vermicompost and farmyard manure significantly extended the shelf life of the biocontrol bacteria. In pot and field experiments, formulations of P. fluorescens based on carboxy methyl cellulose and substrate carriers were used in various ways to test their efficacy in preventing bacterial wilt of brinjal. CVPf formulation and seed + root + soil method of application performed significantly better than others providing 83.33% control of bacterial wilt of brinjal in field experiment conducted by Completely Randomized Block Design. The yield and yield characteristics of CVPf-treated brinjal plants were also noticeably higher than those of other formulation-treated brinjal crops. The P. fluorescens-based organic formulation's capability and scope as a PGPR are indicated by its successful control of the bacterial wilt of brinjal and improvement of yield and yield attributes under local conditions.