Induced resistance and plant growth promotion by endophytic bacteria Bacillus sp. AA2 against Meloidogyne sp. on pepper

Abstract

Currently, controlling of plant parasitic nematode is generally conducted using chemical pesticides. However, it is very important to find out environmentally-friendly control strategies to improve the quality of pepper and reduce production cost. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the formulation of endophytic bacteria against plant parasitic nematodes Meloidogyne spp. and its effect on the plant growth of pepper. This study was focused on the dry formulation of endophytic bacterial Bacillus sp. AA2, which has been known from the previous research that this bacteria has ability to suppress plant parasitic nematode Meloidogyne spp. and increased the plant growth on black pepper. The results showed that the dry formulation of endophytic bacteria Bacillus sp. AA2 was able to reduce the number of gall Meloidogyne sp. and to improve the plant growth of pepper, as indicated by the number of leaves and number of branches of pepper in the greenhouse experiment. Results in field testing in Bangka indicated that the application of endophytic bacterial formulation was able to reduce the incidence of yellowing disease of pepper and increase the number of flowers on the primary branches of pepper plants and reduced the number of nematode populations in the soil. Formulation AA2F4-50 was the best dry formulation in suppressing root galls and the populations of plant parasitic nematode.