EFFICACY OF PURPUREOCILLIUM LILACINUM AND GLOMUS SP. TO CONTROL MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA AND TO IMPROVE TOMATO PLANT GROWTH IN ARSENIC CONTAMINATED SOIL

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Purpureocillium lilacinum either alone or in combination with Glomus sp. to control root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita of tomato in arsenic contaminated soil. Pot soil was treated with P. lilacinum and Glomus sp. either singly or in combination and subsequently challenged by M. incognita. There were 16 treatments with 10 replications and pots were arranged in CRD. Glomus sp. was applied @100 g infected soil and maize root segments/ plant/ pot. P. lilacinum was applied @ 5x106 CFU/ g soil. Arsenic was applied @ 100 ppm / pot soil (600 g soil) and M. incognita was inoculated @ 10,000 eggs/ plant / pot. Data was recorded on gall index, plant growth parameters, nutrients uptake and reduction of arsenic toxicity in M. incognita infested soil two months after transplantation. Combined application of P. lilacinum and Glomus sp. led to significantly highest plant growth, highest leaf area, highest chlorophyll content, highest nutrients uptake and lowest arsenic toxicity than their single application. Gall index and arsenic toxicity were reduced by 53.13% and 47.67%, respectively with the combined application of P. lilacinum and Glomus sp.