Bacillus valezensis: A New Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacterium for Plant Growth Promotion and Inhibition of Rhizoctonia bataticola for the Management of Dry Root Rot of Chickpea

Background: Chickpea production is threatened by dry root rot disease in recent years. The disease is caused by soil borne fungus Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub) Butler with its pycnidial stage Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. Bacillus spp. is a rod shaped and gram negative rhizobacterium which is predominant in the soil. Hence, considering the economic importance of disease, the present investigation was carried out to repress the pathogen by using indigenous Bacillus spp. strains related to antagonistic potential and plant growth promoting traits Methods: Thirty indigenous bacterial PGPR strains were isolated from healthy rhizospheric soil samples of chickpea and their antagonistic potential was studied. Later, the potential ones were examined for plant growth promoting traits. The promising strains were identified at molecular level 16S rDNA. Results: All thirty PGPR strains of rhizospharic Bacillus were potentiality antagonistic against R. bataticola and nine strains showed more than 50 per cent inhibition of the pathogen. Out of nine strains, four strains recorded more growth promoting traits and they were identified at molecular level as Bacillus cereus, Bacillus velezensis, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus subtilis sub sp. Subtilis. Bacillus valezensis is a new report on rhizosphaeric PGPR against R. bataticola in chickpea.