A Possibility of Proteolytic Bacteria Utilization to Control Ralstonia solanacearum 59 In Vitro

Abstract

Ralstonia solanacearum is a bacterium that causes wilting in chili plants. This bacterium can damage the tissue and cause a decrease in production. One of the controls using antagonistic bacteria with the mechanism of antibiosis is the production of secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites are protease enzymes. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of proteolytic bacteria from tofu wastewater to inhibit the growth of Ralstonia solanacearum 59. The study was conducted at the Biology Laboratory, Institut Teknologi Sumatera from April-October 2019. The research method used was experimental testing of bacterial antagonists in vitro on media Mueller Hinton Agar. The results showed that of the 28 proteolytic isolates tested, only three bacterial isolates could inhibit the growth of R solanacearum 59, namely BLT-15, BLT-17, and BLT-27. Of the three isolates, BLT-17 showed the highest inhibition zone against R. solanacearum of 23 mm. This inhibition zone activity showed that BLT-17 isolate was able to be used as a biocontrol agent of R. solanacearum 59, the cause of bacterial wilt disease.