Moringa olefra Plant Based Copper and Silver Nano Particles and its Antibacterial Activity towards Leaf Spot of Chilli caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria

Bacterial leaf spot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) is one of the most devastating diseases, causing serious losses in chilli crop yield. The extensive usage of chemicals has increased the toxicity of the environment. Nanotechnology products are indeed being developed as a promising approach for plant disease control with minimal impact on the environment. In the present research, the antibacterial activity of green synthesized nanoparticles (Silver and Zinc nanoparticles) was investigated against Xcv. Different concentrations (0.25, 0.6 and 0.75%) of the green synthesized nanoparticles (AgNPs and ZnNPs) along with their combination were evaluated under lab conditions against Xcv under Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Results showed that the combination of both nanoparticles (AgNPs+ZnNPs) gave the best results and expressed maximum inhibition zone (25.207 mm), followed by solo applications of AgNPs and ZnNPs (18.458 and 12.253 mm). Whereas, the interaction of treatment and concentration combination (AgNPs+ZnNPs) expressed a maximum inhibition zone (28.459 mm) at 0.75% concentration as compared to other treatments. The concentration (0.75%) at which bacteria showed the maximum inhibition zone was used to control the bacterial leaf spot of chilli under field conditions. The experiment was conducted under a Completely Randomized Block Design (RCBD) where AgNPs+ZnNPs expressed the best results with minimum disease incidence (21.92%) followed by solo treatments of AgNPs and ZnNPs (26.999 and 35.320%)