Informatics Publishing Limited

R. Suseela Bhai ¹, B. Remya ¹, Danesh Jithya ¹, S. J. Eapen ¹

Affiliations
1 Division of Crop Protection, Indian Institute of Spices Research, Marikunnu PO, Calicut 673012, Kerala, IN

Abstract

Rhizosphere and phyllosphere organisms isolated from vanilla consisted of predominant colonizers such as Fusarium sp. (24 isolates) and Colletotrichum sp. (20 isolates). Other organisms were Rhizoctonia sp. (two isolates), Trichoderma spp. (seven isolates), Paecilomyces sp. (one isolate), Mucor sp. (three isolates), non-sporulating fungal species (10 isolates) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (three isolates). When tested in vitro, six isolates showed more than 50% inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vanillae. These were two isolates of Trichoderma sp. (53.30-70.58), one isolate of Paecilomyces sp. (65.00%) and two isolates of P. fluorescens (59.15- 62.50%) that were antagonistic to the pathogen. None of the non-pathogenic Fusarium species tested showed promising inhibitory effect on F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae. The five promising isolates were tested in planta by challenge inoculation. Paecilomyces sp. provided 100 per cent protection against ischolar_main rot. T. harzianum and P. fluorescens provided 40% protection. Thus the present study indicated the possibility of using Paecilomyces sp. as a potential antagonist for F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae.

Keywords

Biological Control, Colletotrichum Sp., Fusarium oxysporum F. Sp. Vanillae, In vitro Screening, Root Rot and Vanilla planifolia.

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M. C. Sibi ¹, M. Anandaraj ¹, S. J. Eapen ¹, S. Devasahayam ¹

Affiliations
1 Indian Institute of Spices Research, P.B. No. 1701, Marikunnu Post, Calicut - 673012, Kerala, IN

Abstract

Trichoderma harzianum is used as a biocontrol agent to manage Phytophthora foot rot of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) in India. Several organic materials such as sorghum, neem cake, decomposed coir pith and farmyard manure are used both as multiplication and carrier media for T. harzianum. The effect of these carrier media on the population build up of T. harzianum in black pepper rhizosphere and their effect on microflora and fauna was studied. The organic materials increased the population of introduced T. harzianum and also increased populations of fungi, bacteria, microarthropods and nematodes. In case of sorghum, there was a sudden spurt in the population of saprophytic nematodes and mycophagous mites within 15 days followed by a succession of predatory mites and nematodes. The unspent carbohydrate and mycelial form of T.harzianum in sorghum perhaps helped in the population build up of soil microarthropods and nematodes, which in turn affect the biocontrol efficiency of the introduced organism.

Keywords

Biocontrol, Black Pepper Rhizosphere, Carrier Media, Mycophagous mites, Mycophagous nematodes, Trichoderma harzianum.

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A. I. Bhat ¹, Agath Martin ², Arun John ², Neethu Isaac ², S. J. Eapen ¹

Affiliations
1 Division of Crop Protection, Bioinformatics Centre, ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode 673 012, IN
2 Bioinformatics Centre, ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode 673 012, IN

Abstract

Indian Plant Virus Database (IPVdb) (http://220.227.138.213/virusdb/) hosts information on plant viruses reported from India. To develop this, basic information on plant viruses, their occurrence, particle morphology, transmission, symptomatology and host range were collected and compiled from published literature. Sequence information corresponding to each of the virus species was gathered from the GenBank. The information assembled was organized as a searchable database using MySQL and PHP. In the home page of the database, a general outline about viruses, their history, taxonomy, transmission and management are provided. An alphabetical index of all virus species reported from India is also given in the home page along with their corresponding genera and family names. For each virus species entry, a brief introduction about the virus, its particle morphology, transmission, its natural host range, symptomatology and detection methods are given. Key references and all available sequences (both complete and partial) of each of the virus species are also provided. Selected sequences can be directly downloaded from the website in FASTA format for downstream analysis. Provision for BLAST analysis (Viro Blast) provided in the database will help researchers in quick identification of their samples.

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