In vitro Inhibition of Rhizoctonia solani Radial Growth by Native Mycoflora: Implications for Root Rot Disease in Chili

In the course of the study, native bioagents isolated from the rhizosphere of the chili crop were used to manage the soil-borne pathogens Rhizoctonia solani. The study was conducted in the laboratory of the Department of Plant Pathology and Nematology, RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar in the year 2020-23. The soil microflora (fungal and bacterial) was isolated from the rhizosphere of Chili and screened in vitro by evaluating their antagonistic potential against Rhizoctonia solani, and resultantly two fungal and two bacterial isolates were found most effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth of the pathogen over control. The maximum percent inhibition was recorded in the case of Trichoderma harzianum (71.98%) followed by Trichoderma viride (62.54%) and among the bacterial isolates maximum inhibition was recorded in the case of RB1 that inhibit (69.38%), followed by RB6 (66.42%). Overall, these findings suggest that the combination of Trichoderma and Bacteria could be an effective and sustainable method for reducing the radial growth of Rhizoctonia solani causing Root rot disease in chilli. Rhizoctonia solani was established as a causal organism of chili. The use of Bio-control agents is an eco-friendly approach and a good option to manage soil borne phyto-pathogens. These biological control agents either use the mechanism of antibiosis or mycoparasitism against the fungal pathogen. Evaluation of Trichoderma spp. and Bacterial isolates against Rhizoctonia solani showed that significantly reduced the mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani in vitro.