Application of rhizobacteria antagonistic to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici for the management of Fusarium wilt in tomato

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, being a seed/soil borne pathogen causes wilt in tomato and pose serious threat for its production. In the present investigation, ten rhizobacteria antagonistic to F. oxysporum were characterized for their beneficial traits and applied to manage Fusarium wilt disease in tomato. Among ten rhizobacterial isolates, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CS–1 showed significantly higher fungal growth inhibition of 31% followed by B. amyloliquefaciens PCfS (28%). Upon characterization for their beneficial traits, all isolates were found positive for root colonization and showed varied results for phosphate solubilization, production of Indole acetic acid, siderophore, Hydrogen cyanide and antifungal secondary metabolites, production of enzymes like 1-aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid deaminase, chitinase and cellulase. Under greenhouse conditions, B. amyloliquefaciens CS–1, B. amyloliquefaciens PCfS and Ochrobactrum intermedium TRB–1 were found significant in suppressing the incidence of Fusarium wilt and also increased the vigor index (VI) of seedling over control.