Antagonistic Bacillus spp. reduce blast incidence on rice and increase grain yield under field conditions —Bio control effects on blast disease suppression on rice crop

In this study, Bacillus spp. KFP-5, KFP-7, KFP-17 significantly reduced disease severity by 40–52% with grain yield of 3.2–3.9 ton ha−1 in two rice varieties i.e., basmati super and basmati 385. Bacillus spp. significantly colonized the rice rhizosphere with a cell population of 2.40E+06–5.6E+07CFU. Rice plants treated with antagonistic bacterial suspension followed by challenge inoculation with P. oryzae were found to have higher activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (308–266 Ug−1 FW), peroxidase (change in absorbance (ΔA) = 0.20–0.71 min−1 g−1 FW), polyphenol oxidase (ΔA = 0.29–0.58 min−1 g−1 FW) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (ΔA = 0.32–0.59 min−1 g−1 FW). A consistency in the performance of strains was observed in the consecutive years 2013–2014. These findings suggest that indigenous Bacillus spp. could be a potential bio-inoculum for rice to control blast diseases and enhance yield.
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research