Induced soil microbial suppression of banana fusarium wilt disease using compost and biofertilizers to improve yield and quality

Abstract

Banana production has been severely hindered by fusarium wilt disease. The application of organic amendments to soil has been proposed as a strategy for management of the soil borne disease. The one-year effects of different composts and bio-organic fertilizer (BIO) on banana fusarium wilt disease incidence, crop yield, crop quality, and the soil microflora were investigated in field condition. A plate count method, real-time PCR, and PCR-DGGE were used to investigate the soil microflora. The BIO application more effectively controlled fusarium wilt disease. The highest total soluble sugars (TSS) to titratable acidity (TSS/TA) ratios, banana yield, culturable and total soil bacteria populations, and culturable actinobacteria population were observed from the BIO treatment. The ratio of bacteria to fungi (B/F) and actinomycetes to fungi (A/F) values from the plate count method and the B/F value from the real-time PCR analysis were also highest in the soils collected from the BIO application. Based on PCR-DGGE results, the soil bacteria structure was significantly altered in the soils collected from BIO treatment compared to the other treatments. All the results confirmed that application of bio-organic fertilizer could more effectively control fusarium wilt disease in field conditions by improving soil microbial communities.