INFLUENCE OF BIO INOCULANTS ON ROOTING, SURVIVAL AND TOLERANCE TO BACTERIAL BLIGHT DISEASE IN HARDWOOD STEM CUTTINGS OF POMEGRANATE (Punica granatum L.) CV. SUPER BHAGWA
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Date
2021-12
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot. (College of Horticulture, Bagalkot).
Abstract
The present investigation was carried out during 2020-21 at fruit nursery of the
Main Horticultural Research and Extension Centre, University of Horticultural
Sciences, Bagalkot to assess the practical utility of different bio inoculants on rooting,
survivability and to induce the tolerance against bacterial blight disease in hardwood
stem cuttings of pomegranate. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized
design comprising ten different treatment combinations of four bio inoculants viz.,
Trichoderma harzianum, VAM (Glomus fasciculatum), Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas
fluorescens at the rate of 5 g per kg of potting mixture each, and one untreated control
which were replicated for three times. Observations on shoot, root, physiological and
biochemical parameters are recorded along with the per cent disease index (PDI) and
per cent reduction over control to assess the tolerance against bacterial blight.
Among the various microbial cultures used, the treatment combination of
T. harzianum, VAM, B. subtilis, P. fluorescens (T10) induced first and fifty per cent
sprouting (6.50 and 11.44 days, respectively). Similarly at 90 DAP, number of shoots
per cutting (10.89), leaves per shoot (39.33), total number of leaves per cutting (93.86),
fresh and dry shoot weight (25.59 and 14.00 g, respectively), fresh and dry root weight
(11.80 and 6.69 g, respectively), dry matter percentage of root (56.57 %), length of
longest root (34.60 cm), number of primary and secondary roots (19.40 and 28.60,
respectively), chlorophyll content (90.67 SCMR), stomatal conductance (349.00 mmol
m
-2
s
-1
), total phenolic content and leaf reducing sugar (2.21 and 3.28 mg g
-1
,
respectively) and also significantly minimum disease incidence (28.89 PDI) with
highest per cent reduction over control (66.67 %) recorded highest under the same
treatment combination (T10). Next best results were obtained from the treatment
combinations of VAM, T. harzianum and P. fluorescens (T9) and VAM, T. harzianum
and B. subtilis (T8).
From the present study, it was found that the combination of four bio inoculants
i.e., T. harzianum, VAM, B. subtilis, P. fluorescens not only recorded the better results
with respect to vegetative, root, physiological and biochemical parameters but also
found to be promising in inducing tolerance against bacterial blight disease at seedling
stage as compared to other combination or individual use of bio inoculants.