Evaluation of compatibility of native plant growth promoting rhizobacterial isolates against chemical pesticides

Abstract

Conventional agriculture relies heavily on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides to control plant diseases, pests and weeds to improve production. Consequently, the soil receives the bulk of complex agrochemical compounds many of which are poisonous to the activity of non-target beneficial soil microorganisms. There is a need to check the tolerance of biocontrol agents like Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacterial (PGPR) to various pesticides before their practical application. Taking this into account, the investigation was conducted for the screening of the PGPR isolates against chemical pesticide degradation potentialities in Plant Bacteriological Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal during 2021-22. All the native rhizobacterial, Bacillus and Fluorescent pseudomonad isolates tested had good potentiality to tolerate Carbendazim and Glyphosate. Among native Bacillus isolates, BRB89, BRB42, PR 19, PR 20, BRB 52, BRB 56, BRB 74, and SM 9 showed moderate tolerance, whereas among all the native Fluorescent pseudomonads, all except GP2 showed high tolerance against Paraquat. All native Bacillus isolates except PR16 were highly sensitive against Chorpyriphos. However, all the native fluorescent pseudomonads showed tolerance against Chorpyriphos even at 2000 ppm concentration.