Bio-efficacy of different biological control agents for the management of chilli fruit rot/anthracnose disease

Abstract

Chilli (Capsicum annum L.) an important economic crop worldwide is severely infected by fruit rot disease which may cause yield losses of up to 100%. Although different chemical fungicides are being recommended and used for the management of the disease, biocontrol-based strategy attracts considerable attention and offers great potential of novel biocontrol agents. Further, biological control methods for chilli fruit rot/anthracnose disease have not received much attention. Therefore, an investigation was carried out to assess the efficacy of different biological control agents against chilli fruit rot/anthracnose disease. Antagonistic yeast isolates Pichia guillermondii (Y-12), Hanseniaspora uvarum (Y-73) and Trichoderma asperellum (Th-3), Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-1) were tested through seed treatment, seedling dip and foliar spray at concentration of 2 í— 108 cfu/g. The pathogens viz., Colletotrichum capsici, Alternaria alternata and Periconia byssoides were found associated with fruit rot during the study. Lowest mean disease intensity (MDI), highest disease control (DC) over untreated control was recorded in the treatment <i>P. guillermondii</i> (Y-12) (5.39% MDI, 64.72% DC) and this was found at par with the treatment <i>P. fluorescens</i> (Pf-1) (5.92% MDI, 65.52% DC). However, <i>T. asperellum</i> (Th-3) showed satisfactory results. The present study highlights the efficacy of antagonistic yeast species against chilli fruit rot pathogens and these findings serve as base for further exploration and exploitation of yeast species for eco-friendly management of crop diseases.