Antifungal Activity of Lactobacillus Plantarum Lab-C5 and Lab-G7 Isolated from Malaysian Fruits

Abstract Anthracnose disease for both seed and air borne and affects seed germination and plant vigor to a greater extent. Biological control by antagonistic microorganisms is widely recognized as a promising method for control plant diseases. This study reports the effectiveness of using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cultures or their supernatant as a biological control against anthracnose disease in chilli caused by fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. From 30 lactic acid bacteria isolated from different sources, seven isolates showed good inhibition activity against C. gloeosporioides by dual overlay method and well method. These LAB have antifungal activity grew between 10 and 45oC, pH 4.4 and 9.6 (except one isolate), 6.5 and 18% NaCl. The cell and supernatant from LAB-C5 and LAB-G7, respectively showed strong inhibition to fungal growth identified as Lactobacillus plantarum by API50CHL kit. Seeds infected with C. gloeosporioides followed by treatment with LAB cells and supernatant of C5 and G7 showed better seed germination rate. The results indicated that cell and supernatant of LAB has potential to be used biological control against C. gloeosporioides to replace the use of chemical fungicide to chilli seeds.