Biocidal efficacy of Pasteuria penetrans alone and in combination with carbofuran against Meloidogyne incognita in chilli

Biocidal efficacy of Pasteuria penetrans either alone or in combination with carbofuran on the growth of chilli and multiplication of Meloidogyne incognita was studied. Three doses of P. penetrans i.e. 50,100 and 200g infested soil/kg soil with 16 spores/larva as initial inoculum load and two doses of carbofuran, i.e. 1 and 2 kg, a.i./ha were evauated. Individual application of P. penetrans or carbofuran was observed to suppress the adverse effect of the nematode on plant growth to varying extents. Combining them further suppressed the adverse effect of nematode and caused drastic improvement in fresh and dry weights of shoot and root over nematode check. Maximum increase in the fresh weight (86.06 and 69.2%) and dry weight (189.7 and 71.2%) of root and shoot was recorded in treatment having combined application of highest doses of P. penetrans and carbofuran. Individual as well as combined application of P. penetrans and carbofuran was observed to cause significant reduction in gall numbers as well as nematode population. Maximum dose combination of P. penetrans and carbofuran reduced gall numbers and nematode population by 77.6 and 89.2%, respectively over nematode check.