Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 22 in total

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  1. Ngalimat MS, Mohd Hata E, Zulperi D, Ismail SI, Ismail MR, Mohd Zainudin NAI, et al.
    J Basic Microbiol, 2023 Nov;63(11):1180-1195.
    PMID: 37348082 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.202300182
    Bacterial panicle blight (BPB) disease is a dreadful disease in rice-producing countries. Burkholderia glumae, a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, and flagellated bacterium was identified as the primary culprit for BPB disease. In 2019, the disease was reported in 18 countries, and to date, it has been spotted in 26 countries. Rice yield has been reduced by up to 75% worldwide due to this disease. Interestingly, the biocontrol strategy offers a promising alternative to manage BPB disease. This review summarizes the management status of BPB disease using biological control agents (BCA). Bacteria from the genera Bacillus, Burkholderia, Enterobacter, Pantoea, Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces have been examined as BCA under in vitro, glasshouse, and field conditions. Besides bacteria, bacteriophages have also been reported to reduce BPB pathogens under in vitro and glasshouse conditions. Here, the overview of the mechanisms of bacteria and bacteriophages in controlling BPB pathogens is addressed. The applications of BCA using various delivery methods could effectively manage BPB disease to benefit the agroecosystems and food security.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  2. Kadiri M, Sevugapperumal N, Nallusamy S, Ragunathan J, Ganesan MV, Alfarraj S, et al.
    Microbiol Res, 2023 Mar;268:127277.
    PMID: 36577205 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127277
    Management of late blight of potato incited by Phytophthora infestans remains a major challenge. Coevolution of pathogen with resistant strains and the rise of fungicide resistance have made it more challenging to prevent the spread of P. infestans. Here, the anti-oomycete potential of Bacillus velezensis VB7 against P. infestans through pan-genome analysis and molecular docking were explored. The Biocontrol potential of VB7 against P. infestans was assessed using a confrontational assay. The biomolecules from the inhibition zone were identified and subjected to in silico analysis against P. infestans target proteins. Nucleotide sequences for 54 B. velezensis strains from different geographical locations were used for pan-genome analysis. The confrontational assay revealed the anti-oomycetes potential of VB7 against P. infestans. Molecular docking confirmed that the penicillamine disulfide had the maximum binding energy with eight effector proteins of P. infestans. Besides, scanning electron microscopic observations of P. infestans interaction with VB7 revealed structural changes in hypha and sporangia. Pan-genome analysis between 54 strains of B. velezensis confirmed that the core genome had 2226 genes, and it has an open pan-genome. The present study confirmed the anti-oomycete potential of B. velezensis VB7 against P. infestans and paved the way to explore the genetic potential of VB7.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  3. Akter S, Kadir J, Juraimi AS, Saud HM, Elmahdi S
    J Environ Biol, 2014 Nov;35(6):1095-100.
    PMID: 25522511
    A total of 325 bacteria were isolated from both healthy and sheath blight infected leaf samples of rice plants, collected from different places of Malaysia, following dilution technique. Sheath blight pathogen was isolated from infected samples by tissue plating method. Out of 325, 14 isolates were found to be antagonist against the pathogen in pre evaluation test. All the 14 isolates were morphologically characterized. Antagonistic activity of these isolates was further confirmed by adopting the standard dual culture and extracellular metabolite tests. The best isolates were selected, based on the results. In dual culture test, the selected bacterial isolates KMB25, TMB33, PMB38, UMB20 and BMB42 showed 68.44%, 60.89%, 60.22%, 50.00% and 48.22% fungal growth inhibition, respectively and in extracellular metabolite test these bacterial isolates exhibited 93.33%, 84.26%, 69.82%, 67.96% and 39.26% of the same, respectively. Biochemical tests of selected isolates were performed following standard procedure. These bacterial isolates were tentatively identified as fluorescent pseudomonas by morphological and biochemical characterization. The identities were further confirmed by Biolog microstation system as P. fluorescens (UMB20), P. aeruginosa (KMB25, TMB33 and PMB38) and P. asplenii (BMB42) with similarity index ranging from 0.517 to 0.697. The effective bacterial isolates obtained from the present study can be used in the management of soil borne fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani, causing sheath blight of rice.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  4. Rashid MH, Hossain MA, Kashem MA, Kumar S, Rafii MY, Latif MA
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:639246.
    PMID: 24723819 DOI: 10.1155/2014/639246
    Botrytis gray mold (BGM) caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers. Ex. Fr. is an extremely devastating disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and has a regional as well as an international perspective. Unfortunately, nonchemical methods for its control are weak and ineffective. In order to identify an effective control measure, six fungicides with different modes of action were evaluated on a BGM susceptible chickpea variety BARIchhola-1 at a high BGM incidence location (Madaripur) in Bangladesh for three years (2008, 2009, and 2010). Among the six fungicides tested, one was protectant [Vondozeb 42SC, a.i. mancozeb (0.2%)], two systemic [Bavistin 50 WP, a.i. carbendazim (0.2%), and Protaf 250EC, propiconazole (0.05%)], and three combination formulations [Acrobat MZ690, dimethomorph 9% + mancozeb 60%, (0.2%); Secure 600 WG, phenomadone + mancozeb (0.2%); and Companion, mancozeb 63% + carbendazim 12% (0.2%)]. The results showed superiority of combination formulations involving both protectant and systemic fungicides over the sole application of either fungicide separately. Among the combination fungicides, Companion was most effective, resulting in the lowest disease severity (3.33 score on 1-9 scale) and the highest increase (38%) of grain yield in chickpea. Therefore, this product could be preferred over the sole application of either solo protectant or systemic fungicides to reduce yield losses and avoid fungicide resistance.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  5. Fan L, Wei Y, Chen Y, Jiang S, Xu F, Zhang C, et al.
    Food Chem, 2023 Mar 01;403:134419.
    PMID: 36191421 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.134419
    This study investigatedthe mechanism of epinecidin-1 against Botrytis cinerea, in vitro, and its effectiveness at inhibiting gray mold on postharvest peach fruit. We found that in vitro, epinecidin-1 had significantly greater antifungal activity against B. cinerea than either clavanin-A or mytimycin, two other marine derived antimicrobial peptides that we tested. Its antifungal activity was heat-resistant (15 min at 40-100 °C) and tolerant to lower concentrations of cations (<100 mM Na+, K+; <10 mM Ca2+). Epinecidin-1 interacted directly with B. cinerea genomic DNA, and that in mycelia, epinecidin-1 exposure induced accumulation of intracellular ROS and increased the permeability of cell membranes resulting in leakage of nucleic acids and aberrant cell morphology. Meanwhile, 200 μM of epinecidin-1 had a significant inhibitory effect on gray mold injected into peach fruit. These results suggested that epinecidin-1 showed promise as a potential method for controlling postharvest gray mold in peaches.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  6. Leong SC, Abang F, Beattie A, Kueh RJ, Wong SK
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:651416.
    PMID: 22629178 DOI: 10.1100/2012/651416
    Aspects of the incidence and spread of the citrus disease huanglongbing (HLB) in relation to the vector Diaphorina citri population fluctuation were studied from January 1999 to December 2001 seasons in a 0.8 ha citrus orchard at Jemukan (1° 33'N, 110° 41'E), Southwest Sarawak in Malaysia. In relation to insecticide and horticultural mineral oils (HMOs) use, levels of HLB infection rose quite rapidly over the next 3 years in the unsprayed control and less rapidly in the other treatments such as imidacloprid, nC24HMO, and triazophos/cypermethrin/chlorpyrifos. Levels of HLB as determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were 42.2%, 9.4%, 11.4%, and 22.7%, respectively. The effects of nC(24)HMO and conventional pesticides on the citrus psyllid population and parasitoids in citrus orchard were also determined.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  7. Gurr GM, Lu Z, Zheng X, Xu H, Zhu P, Chen G, et al.
    Nat Plants, 2016 02 22;2:16014.
    PMID: 27249349 DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2016.14
    Global food security requires increased crop productivity to meet escalating demand(1-3). Current food production systems are heavily dependent on synthetic inputs that threaten the environment and human well-being(2,4,5). Biodiversity, for instance, is key to the provision of ecosystem services such as pest control(6,7), but is eroded in conventional agricultural systems. Yet the conservation and reinstatement of biodiversity is challenging(5,8,9), and it remains unclear whether the promotion of biodiversity can reduce reliance on inputs without penalizing yields on a regional scale. Here we present results from multi-site field studies replicated in Thailand, China and Vietnam over a period of four years, in which we grew nectar-producing plants around rice fields, and monitored levels of pest infestation, insecticide use and yields. Compiling the data from all sites, we report that this inexpensive intervention significantly reduced populations of two key pests, reduced insecticide applications by 70%, increased grain yields by 5% and delivered an economic advantage of 7.5%. Additional field studies showed that predators and parasitoids of the main rice pests, together with detritivores, were more abundant in the presence of nectar-producing plants. We conclude that a simple diversification approach, in this case the growth of nectar-producing plants, can contribute to the ecological intensification of agricultural systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  8. Nejat N, Rookes J, Mantri NL, Cahill DM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2017 Mar;37(2):229-237.
    PMID: 26796880 DOI: 10.3109/07388551.2015.1134437
    Briskly evolving phytopathogens are dire threats to our food supplies and threaten global food security. From the recent advances made toward high-throughput sequencing technologies, understanding of pathogenesis and effector biology, and plant innate immunity, translation of these means into new control tools is being introduced to develop durable disease resistance. Effectoromics as a powerful genetic tool for uncovering effector-target genes, both susceptibility genes and executor resistance genes in effector-assisted breeding, open up new avenues to improve resistance. TALENs (Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases), engineered nucleases and CRISPR (Clustered Regulatory Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)/Cas9 systems are breakthrough and powerful techniques for genome editing, providing efficient mechanisms for targeted crop protection strategies in disease resistance programs. In this review, major advances in plant disease management to confer durable disease resistance and novel strategies for boosting plant innate immunity are highlighted.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  9. Hasan MM, Rafii MY, Ismail MR, Mahmood M, Alam MA, Abdul Rahim H, et al.
    J Sci Food Agric, 2016 Mar 15;96(4):1297-305.
    PMID: 25892666 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.7222
    Blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is a significant disease threat to rice across the world and is especially prevalent in Malaysia. An elite, early-maturing, high-yielding Malaysian rice variety, MR263, is susceptible to blast and was used as the recurrent parent in this study. To improve MR263 disease resistance, the Pongsu Seribu 1 rice variety was used as donor of the blast resistance Pi-7(t), Pi-d(t)1 and Pir2-3(t) genes and qLN2 quantitative trait locus (QTL). The objective was to introgress these blast resistance genes into the background of MR263 using marker-assisted backcrossing with both foreground and background selection.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  10. Yazid SNE, Jinap S, Ismail SI, Magan N, Samsudin NIP
    Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf, 2020 03;19(2):643-669.
    PMID: 33325175 DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.12541
    In this review, we present the current information on development and applications of biological control against phytopathogenic organisms as well as mycotoxigenic fungi in Malaysia as part of the integrated pest management (IPM) programs in a collective effort to achieve food security. Although the biological control of phytopathogenic organisms of economically important crops is well established and widely practiced in Malaysia with considerable success, the same cannot be said for mycotoxigenic fungi. This is surprising because the year round hot and humid Malaysian tropical climate is very conducive for the colonization of mycotoxigenic fungi and the potential contamination with mycotoxins. This suggests that less focus has been made on the control of mycotoxigenic species in the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium in Malaysia, despite the food security and health implications of exposure to the mycotoxins produced by these species. At present, there is limited research in Malaysia related to biological control of the key mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, Fusarium-related mycotoxins, and ochratoxin A, in key food and feed chains. The expected threats of climate change, its impacts on both plant physiology and the proliferation of mycotoxigenic fungi, and the contamination of food and feed commodities with mycotoxins, including the discovery of masked mycotoxins, will pose significant new global challenges that will impact on mycotoxin management strategies in food and feed crops worldwide. Future research, especially in Malaysia, should urgently focus on these challenges to develop IPM strategies that include biological control for minimizing mycotoxins in economically important food and feed chains for the benefit of ensuring food safety and food security under climate change scenarios.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  11. Miah G, Rafii MY, Ismail MR, Puteh AB, Rahim HA, Latif MA
    J Sci Food Agric, 2017 Jul;97(9):2810-2818.
    PMID: 27778337 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8109
    BACKGROUND: The rice cultivar MR219 is famous for its better yield and long and fine grain quality; however, it is susceptible to blast disease. The main objective of this study was to introgress blast resistance genes into MR219 through marker-assisted selection (MAS). The rice cultivar MR219 was used as the recurrent parent, and Pongsu Seribu 1 was used as the donor.

    RESULTS: Marker-assisted foreground selection was performed using RM6836 and RM8225 to identify plants possessing blast resistance genes. Seventy microsatellite markers were used to estimate recurrent parent genome (RPG) recovery. Our analysis led to the development of 13 improved blast resistant lines with Piz, Pi2 and Pi9 broad-spectrum blast resistance genes and an MR219 genetic background. The RPG recovery of the selected improved lines was up to 97.70% with an average value of 95.98%. Selected improved lines showed a resistance response against the most virulent blast pathogen pathotype, P7.2. The selected improved lines did not express any negative effect on agronomic traits in comparison with MR219.

    CONCLUSION: The research findings of this study will be a conducive approach for the application of different molecular techniques that may result in accelerating the development of new disease-resistant rice varieties, which in turn will match rising demand and food security worldwide. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  12. Wong CKF, Saidi NB, Vadamalai G, Teh CY, Zulperi D
    J Appl Microbiol, 2019 Aug;127(2):544-555.
    PMID: 31077517 DOI: 10.1111/jam.14310
    AIMS: This study sought to investigate the effect of bioformulation on the biocontrol efficacy, microbial viability and storage stability of a consortium of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DRB1 and Trichoderma harzianum CBF2 against Foc Tropical Race 4 (Foc-TR4).

    MATERIALS AND RESULTS: Four bioformulations consisting of dry (pesta granules, talc powder and alginate beads) and liquid formulations were evaluated for their ability to control Foc-TR4, sustain microbial populations after application and maintain microbial stability during storage. All tested bioformulations reduced disease severity (DS) by more than 43·00% with pesta granules producing the highest reduction in DS by 66·67% and the lowest area under the disease progress curve value (468·75) in a glasshouse trial. Microbial populations of DRB1 and CBF2 were abundant in the rhizosphere, rhizoplane and within the roots of bananas after pesta granules application as compared to talc powder, alginate beads and liquid formulations 84 days after inoculation (DAI). The stability of both microbial populations after 180 days of storage at 4°C was the greatest in the pesta granule formulation.

    CONCLUSION: The pesta granule formulation was a suitable carrier of biological control agents (BCA) without compromising biocontrol efficacy, microbial population and storage stability as compared to other bioformulations used in this study.

    SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Pesta granules could be utilized to formulate BCA consortia into biofertilizers. This formulation could be further investigated for possible applications under agricultural field settings.

    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  13. Rivas-Cáceres RR, Luis Stephano-Hornedo J, Lugo J, Vaca R, Del Aguila P, Yañez-Ocampo G, et al.
    Microb Pathog, 2018 Feb;115:358-362.
    PMID: 29305184 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2017.12.075
    This study explored the use of silver nanoparticle as a bactericidal against the propagation of Clavibacter michiganensis onto tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). In Mexico, tomato production covers about 73% of the total vegetable production but it is affected by outbreak of bacteria canker caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subspecies michiganensis (Cmm). Silver ions possess inhibitor properties, bactericides and high specter antimicrobials. In this study, 6 groups of culture were prepared using 6 different petri dishes where silver nanoparticles of varying concentrations (120, 84, 48, 24, 12 and 0 μg) were added. Furthermore, each group was observed for 20 min, 1, 2, 12 and 24 h. The optimum concentration is 84 μg, which shows an average of 2 Cmm colonies after 20 min. Further increase to 120 μg shows no significant change. However, the average colonies was observed for 48 μg after 1, 2, 12, and 24 h. The obtained results indicate that silver nanoparticles are a promising inhibitor, bactericide and high a specter antimicrobial for treatment or prevention of Cmm.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  14. Kannan M, Ismail I, Bunawan H
    Viruses, 2018 09 13;10(9).
    PMID: 30217014 DOI: 10.3390/v10090492
    Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) is a serious maize pathogen, epidemic worldwide, and one of the most common virus diseases for monocotyledonous plants, causing up to 70% loss in corn yield globally since 1960. MDMV belongs to the genus Potyvirus (Potyviridae) and was first identified in 1964 in Illinois in corn and Johnsongrass. MDMV is a single stranded positive sense RNA virus and is transmitted in a non-persistent manner by several aphid species. MDMV is amongst the most important virus diseases in maize worldwide. This review will discuss its genome, transmission, symptomatology, diagnosis and management. Particular emphasis will be given to the current state of knowledge on the diagnosis and control of MDMV, due to its importance in reducing the impact of maize dwarf mosaic disease, to produce an enhanced quality and quantity of maize.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  15. Ali A, Wee Pheng T, Mustafa MA
    J Appl Microbiol, 2015 Jun;118(6):1456-64.
    PMID: 25727701 DOI: 10.1111/jam.12782
    To evaluate the potential use of lemongrass essential oil vapour as an alternative for synthetic fungicides in controlling anthracnose of papaya.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  16. Singh P, Mazumdar P, Harikrishna JA, Babu S
    Planta, 2019 Nov;250(5):1387-1407.
    PMID: 31346804 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-019-03246-8
    MAIN CONCLUSION: Rice sheath blight research should prioritise optimising biological control approaches, identification of resistance gene mechanisms and application in genetic improvement and smart farming for early disease detection. Rice sheath blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG1-1A, is one of the most devasting diseases of the crop. To move forward with effective crop protection against sheath blight, it is important to review the published information related to pathogenicity and disease management and to determine areas of research that require deeper study. While progress has been made in the identification of pathogenesis-related genes both in rice and in the pathogen, the mechanisms remain unclear. Research related to disease management practices has addressed the use of agronomic practices, chemical control, biological control and genetic improvement: Optimising nitrogen fertiliser use in conjunction with plant spacing can reduce spread of infection while smart agriculture technologies such as crop monitoring with Unmanned Aerial Systems assist in early detection and management of sheath blight disease. Replacing older fungicides with natural fungicides and use of biological agents can provide effective sheath blight control, also minimising environmental impact. Genetic approaches that show promise for the control of sheath blight include treatment with exogenous dsRNA to silence pathogen gene expression, genome editing to develop rice lines with lower susceptibility to sheath blight and development of transgenic rice lines overexpressing or silencing pathogenesis related genes. The main challenges that were identified for effective crop protection against sheath blight are the adaptive flexibility of the pathogen, lack of resistant rice varieties, abscence of single resistance genes for use in breeding and low access of farmers to awareness programmes for optimal management practices.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  17. Tan YC, Ang CL, Wong MY, Ho CL
    Protein Pept Lett, 2016;23(11):994-1002.
    PMID: 27719656
    Plant defensins are plant defence peptides that have many different biological activities, including antifungal, antimicrobial, and insecticidal activities. A cDNA (EgDFS) encoding defensin was isolated from Elaeis guineensis. The open reading frame of EgDFS contained 231 nucleotides encoding a 71-amino acid protein with a predicted molecular weight at 8.69 kDa, and a potential signal peptide. The eight highly conserved cysteine sites in plant defensins were also conserved in EgDFS. The EgDFS sequence lacking 30 amino acid residues at its N-terminus (EgDFSm) was cloned into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS and successfully expressed as a soluble recombinant protein. The recombinant EgDFSm was found to be a thermal stable peptide which demonstrated inhibitory activity against the growth of G. boninense possibly by inhibiting starch assimilation. The role of EgDFSm in oil palm defence system against the infection of pathogen G. boninense was discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  18. Steuernagel B, Periyannan SK, Hernández-Pinzón I, Witek K, Rouse MN, Yu G, et al.
    Nat Biotechnol, 2016 Jun;34(6):652-5.
    PMID: 27111722 DOI: 10.1038/nbt.3543
    Wild relatives of domesticated crop species harbor multiple, diverse, disease resistance (R) genes that could be used to engineer sustainable disease control. However, breeding R genes into crop lines often requires long breeding timelines of 5-15 years to break linkage between R genes and deleterious alleles (linkage drag). Further, when R genes are bred one at a time into crop lines, the protection that they confer is often overcome within a few seasons by pathogen evolution. If several cloned R genes were available, it would be possible to pyramid R genes in a crop, which might provide more durable resistance. We describe a three-step method (MutRenSeq)-that combines chemical mutagenesis with exome capture and sequencing for rapid R gene cloning. We applied MutRenSeq to clone stem rust resistance genes Sr22 and Sr45 from hexaploid bread wheat. MutRenSeq can be applied to other commercially relevant crops and their relatives, including, for example, pea, bean, barley, oat, rye, rice and maize.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
  19. Maluin FN, Hussein MZ, Yusof NA, Fakurazi S, Idris AS, Hilmi NHZ, et al.
    PLoS One, 2020;15(4):e0231315.
    PMID: 32315346 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231315
    Although fungicides could be the best solution in combating fungal infections in crops, however, the phytotoxic level of fungicides to the crops should be tested first to ensure that it is safe for the crops. Moreover, nanocarrier systems of fungicides could play a significant role in the advancement of crop protection. For this reason, chitosan was chosen in the present study as a nanocarrier for fungicides of hexaconazole and/or dazomet in the development of a new generation of agronanofungicides with a high antifungal potent agent and no phytotoxic effect. Hence, the encapsulation of fungicides into the non-toxic biopolymer, chitosan was aims to reduce the phytotoxic level of fungicides. In the present study, the in vivo phytotoxicity of chitosan-fungicides nanoparticles on the physiological and vegetative growth of oil palm seedlings was evaluated in comparison to its pure fungicides as well as the conventional fungicides. The results revealed the formation of chitosan-fungicides nanoparticles could reduce the phytotoxic effect on oil palm seedlings compared to their counterparts, pure fungicides. The chitosan-fungicides nanoparticles were seen to greatly reduce the phytotoxic effect compared to the conventional fungicides with the same active ingredient.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control*
  20. Lau ET, Tani A, Khew CY, Chua YQ, Hwang SS
    Microbiol Res, 2020 Nov;240:126549.
    PMID: 32688172 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2020.126549
    Black pepper production in Malaysia was restricted by various diseases. Hazardous chemical products appear to be the best solution to control diseases in black pepper cultivation. However, persistence of chemical residues in peppercorns could affect the quality of exports and consumptions. Application of fertilizers is crucial to sustain pepper growth and high yield. But, continuous use of chemical fertilizers could affect the soil ecosystem and eventually restrict nutrient uptake by pepper roots. Therefore, we propose biological approaches as an alternative solution instead of chemical products to sustain pepper cultivation in Malaysia. In this study, we have isolated a total of seven indigenous rhizobacteria antagonistic to soil-borne Fusarium solani, the causal fungus of slow decline, the most serious debilitating disease of black pepper in Malaysia. The isolated bacteria were identified as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus siamensis, Brevibacillus gelatini, Pseudomonas geniculata, Pseudomonas beteli, Burkholderia ubonensis and Burkholderia territorii. These bacteria were effective in production of antifungal siderophore with the amount of 53.4 %-73.5 % per 0.5 mL of cell-free supernatants. The bacteria also produced appreciable amount of chitinase with chitinolytic index was ranged from 1.19 to 1.76. The bacteria have shown phosphate solubilizing index within 1.61 to 2.01. They were also efficient in ACC deaminase (0.52 mM-0.62 mM) and ammonia (60.3 mM-75.3 mM) production. The isolated antagonists were efficacious in stimulation of black pepper plant growth and root development through IAA (10.5 μg/mL-42.6 μg/mL) secretion. In conclusion, the isolated rhizobacteria are potent to be developed not only as biocontrol agents to minimize the utilization of hazardous chemicals in black pepper disease management, but also developed as bio-fertilizers to improve black pepper plant growth due to their capabilities in plant growth-promotion.
    Matched MeSH terms: Plant Diseases/prevention & control
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