Abstract

PACHECO-AGUIRRE, J et al. Polymer-based encapsulation of Bacillus subtilis and its effect on Meloidogyne incognita in tomato. Phyton (B. Aires) [online]. 2016, vol.85, n.1, pp.1-6. ISSN 1851-5657.

Antagonistic bacteria used as biological control agent may loss effectiveness at the field due to environmental factors such as UV radiation, dryness and high temperature. An inexpensive alternative to protect antagonistic bacteria against such factors is the use of microencapsulating agents. In this work, the effect of microencapsulation of Bacillus subtilis with commercial gums on their antagonistic capacity against Meloidogyne incognita was evaluated. The eficiency of the microencapsulation was verified by the difference between the initial and final concentrations of protein release. The effectiveness as antagonist was evaluated against M. incognita in tomato under greenhouse conditions. The microcapsules based on carboxymethylcellulose (MBC) and xanthan (MBX) were morphologically different. The MBX showed a higher bacterial release eficiency (90.2%) compared to that of MBC (76.6%). Plants inoculated with MBX showed a significant decrease in galls and M. incognita eggs in comparison to control plants, but this decrease did not occur on those inoculated with non-microencapsulated B. subtilis. The application of MBX to tomato plants at transplanting time provided good protection against M. incognita under greenhouse conditions.

Keywords : Rhizobacteria; Plant pathogenic nematode; Ionic gelation; Microencapsulation.

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