Biological control of damping-off of Cardamom by the VA mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus fasciculatum

Abstract

The possibility of using the vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus, Glomus fasciculatum in biological control of damping-off of cardamom caused by Fusarium moniliforme, Pythium vexans and Rhizoctonia sp. was studied. Under Bangalore conditions, the pathogens Rhizoctonia sp. and P. vexans did not cause disease. Only F. moniliforme developed disease symptoms. Inoculation with G. fasciculatum alone increased the plant growth parameters studied to the maximum, while less plant growth was observed after inoculation with F. moniliforme alone. Dual inoculation with both G. fasciculatum and F. moniliforme was almost comparable with the uninoculated control. Plants were scored for disease index in the scale of 0 to 3 in increasing order of severity. Plants inoculated with Fusarium only had a score of 2.0. Uninoculated control plants had a score of O. Plants inoculated with F. moniliforme + G. fasciculatum had a score of 0.5, clearly pointing out that G. fasciculatum can block the severity of disease caused by F. moniliforme. Plants inoculated with G. fasciculatum harboured more organisms in their rhizosphere with properties antagonistic to F. moniliforme.