Plant growth enhancement and suppression of Macrophomina phaseolina causing charcoal rot of peanut by fluorescent Pseudomonas

A plant growth-promoting bacterial strain, GRC₂, was isolated from potato rhizosphere and characterized as fluorescent Pseudomonas. It produced a hydroxamate-type siderophore in iron-deficient tryptic soy medium. The production of hydrocyanic acid and indole acetic acid was also recorded under normal growth conditions. The strain showed a strong antagonistic effect against Macrophomina phaseolina, a charcoal rot pathogen of peanut, when co-cultured on tryptic soy agar medium. The growth inhibition of M. phaseolina was 74% after 5 days of incubation. Bacterization of peanut seeds with fluorescent Pseudomonas GRC₂ resulted in increased seed germination, early seedling growth, fresh nodule weight, grain yield and reduced charcoal rot disease of peanut in M. phaseolina-infested soil as compared with control. A streptomycin-resistant marker of the bacterium GRC₂^strep+ was used to monitor root colonization, which positively confirmed the efficient colonization of peanut root. Seed bacterization reduced charcoal rot disease in M. phaseolina-infested soil as compared with the control by 99%, making the organism a potential biocontrol agent against charcoal rot of peanut.