Bacillus Amyloliquefaciens in healthy seedling production of Hot Pepper in Trinidad

Abstract

Hot pepper is the major vegetable crop grown in Trinidad. The production and productivity of this crop is mainly determined by soil borne diseases. Of soil borne fungal diseases, Fusarium and Phytophthora are considered as more serious problem in hot pepper production under nursery conditions and responsible for severe losses during and after transplantation (Adams et al., 2011). Therapeutic approach of managing the diseases with chemical fungicides has been the prevailing disease control strategy for over several years. Concerns about the adverse effects of pesticides on human health and the environment are greater than ever. There is also increasing scrutiny of pesticides and many chemicals previously thought of as safe are being voluntarily or forcibly withdrawn from the market.The indiscriminate use of fungicides led to the development of new resistant strains demanding more quantity of fungicides. Heavy and repeated applications of fungicides also results in eliminating beneficial microorganisms from the rhizosphere region and making the disease problems still more serious. Therefore it is believed that the establishment and maintenance of a threshold population of beneficial microbes could be effective in reducing disease in vegetable nurseries and in main field. In this context, the current study was carried out to explore the potential of indigenous novel microbial strains in the production of healthy seedlings in Hot Pepper.