Control of Maize Late Wilt and Enhancing Plant Growth Parameters using Rhizobacteria and Organic Compounds

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Pathol. Dept., Fac. Agric., Cairo Univ.

2 Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, 12619, Giza, Egypt.

3 Ministry of Higher Education, Syrian Arab Republic

Abstract

Rhizobacterial strains and organic compounds were tested for their capability to decrease maize late wilt disease caused by Cephalosporium maydis and promote plant growth under greenhouse and field conditions. In vitro, three Bacillus subtilis out of seven isolates and one Pseudomonas fluorescens out of eight isolates were found to show antifungal activity against the highly virulent C. maydis isolates. Also, application of organic compounds, i.e. compost-tea, olive mill wastewater (OMW) and humic acid at different concentrations caused significant reduction to the fungal growth rate. Meanwhile, humic acid was the most efficient one. Under greenhouse and/or field conditions, significant reduction in disease incidence was recorded when seed treated with rhizobacterial strains and/or organic compounds, either individually or in combination. Seed coating was the best method for treating seeds with rhizobacteria, while the best one for treating with organic compounds was seed soaking. However, the most significant reductions in disease incidence were recorded in case of treatments of seed coating with B. subtilis-1 and P. fluorescens, as well as seed soaking with compost-tea and the combination of each of the tested biological agents with compost-tea. Moreover, these treatments caused increments in seed germination percentages and significantly stimulated maize vegetative growth characters, i.e. plant height and dry weight, either in infested or uninfested soil with C. maydis under greenhouse conditions. Likewise, significant increments in grain yield (100 grain weight and grain yield/fed), as well as ear parameters (ear length, ear diameter, rows number/ear, kernels number/row and kernels number/ear) were recorded, when seeds were treated with rhizobacterial strains and/or organic compounds, either alone or in combinations, under field conditions.

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