Biocontrol Agents for Controlling Wheat Root Rot Disease under Greenhouse Conditions

Background: The most important wheat diseases that caused by soil-borne fungi are the root-rot disease. The current investigation conducted with evaluation the efficacy of some bioagents, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azospirillum brasilense, Trichoderma harzianum, commercial bioagent (Planta guard) and chitosan against the causal pathogenic organisms of wheat root rot disease under greenhouse conditions. Methods: Wheat seedlings infected with root rot disease were subjected to the causal fungal isolation trails. In greenhouse, wheat grains were sown individually in pots containing artificially infested soil with the pathogenic fungi R. solani or F. graminearum. Furthermore, the tested bioagents and the fungicide Topsin-M 70 were applied to the infested soil before sowing. Result: The isolated fungi were R. solani or F. graminearum had proved their pathogenic ability to induce root rot disease of wheat. In pot experiment, all applied treatments affect root rot incidence of grown wheat seedlings in artificially infested soils with disease incidents. In infested soils with root rot incidents, bacterial bioagents reduced root rot incidence by 84.5-93.6% and 28.4- 35.3% 66.6, respectively and by 43.7% for T. harzianum. Moderate effect was obtained by chitosan and planta guard treatments in soil infested with either pathogenic fungi.