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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #328731
Title: Assessing synergism of combined applications of Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens to control blast and bacterial leaf blight of rice

Author
item JAMBHULKAR, PRESHANT - Maharana Pratap University Of Agriculture And Technology
item SHARMA, PRATIBHA - Indian Agricultural Research Institute
item MANOKARAN, RAJA - Indian Agricultural Research Institute
item Lakshman, Dilip
item ROKADIA, PRAMOND - Maharana Pratap University Of Agriculture And Technology
item JAMBHULKAR, NITIPRASAD - Central Rice Research Institute

Submitted to: European Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/2018
Publication Date: 6/11/2018
Citation: Jambhulkar, P., Sharma, P., Manokaran, R., Lakshman, D.K., Rokadia, P., Jambhulkar, N. 2018. Assessing synergism of combined applications of Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens to control blast and bacterial leaf blight of rice. European Journal of Plant Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-018-1519-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-018-1519-3

Interpretive Summary: The strategy of sustainable agriculture demands effective application of biocontrol agents against disease-causing pathogens. The biocontrol potential of combining Trichoderma harzianum Th3, Pseudomonas fluorescens RRb11, and carbendazim fungicide was investigated in vitro and under field conditions in the North Indian state of Rjasthan against the rice blast pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, and the bacterial leaf blight (BLB) pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The results of this study showed overall increased efficacy and consistency of combined application of biocontrol agents against the two plant pathogens. In addition, the combined application of two biocontrol agents was synergistic in reducing blast of rice and antagonistic in reducing BLB. This information will be useful to farmers and scientists to devise strategies to improve biological control against these two important rice diseases.

Technical Abstract: The strategy of sustainable agriculture requires effective application of biocontrol agents against disease-causing pathogens. The biocontrol potential of combining Trichoderma harzianum Th3, Pseudomonas fluorescens RRb11, and carbendazim fungicide against the rice blast pathogen, Magnaporthe oryzae, and the bacterial leaf blight (BLB) pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, was investigated in vitro and under field conditions in Rjasthan, India. Combined application of T. harzianum Th3 and P. fluorescens RRb11 showed a maximum reduction of 69.5% in blast disease intensity over the control, with a synergy factor value of 1.29. The mixture of biocontrol agents was less efficacious in reducing BLB (50-53%) than application of P. fluorescens RRb11 alone (57.9%). These results showed overall increased efficacy and consistency of combined application of biocontrol agents against blast and BLB of rice. Synergistic effects among two biocontrol agents were assessed by applying the numerical hypothesis of Bliss Independence which suggested that the combined application of two biocontrol agents was synergistic in reducing blast of rice and antagonistic in reducing BLB.