Fusarial wilt suppression and crop improvement through two rhizobacterial strains in chick pea growing in soils infested with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris

 Bacterization of chick pea seeds with a siderophore-producing fluorescent Pseudomonas strain RBT13 and an antibiotic-producing Bacillus subtilis strain AF1, isolated from tomato rhizoplane and pigeon pea rhizosphere repectively, increased the shoot height, root length, fresh weight, dry weight and yield in soils infected with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris. Seed bacterization also resulted in a significant reduction in chick pea wilt caused by the same pathogen. Addition of iron to the soil completely eliminated disease suppression by RBT13 but not by AF1. Dual drug-resistant mutant strains derived from the rhizobacteria were used to monitor and confirm root colonization. The results indicate the potential for development of both strains for the biological control of chick pea wilt. Received: 29 April 1998