Biopriming with the entomopathogenic-endophytic fungus Lecanicillium saksenae Kushwaha (Kurihara) and Sukarno for pest and disease tolerance in paddy
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Authors
Reji Rani O P
Professor and Head (Entomology)
Keywords:
Entomopathogenic fungi, Lecanicillium saksenaeAbstract
The study investigated the efficacy of seed priming using an indigenous isolate of the entomopathogenic fungus Lecanicillium saksenae against pests and diseases in rice, during 2023 - 2025. Among the seed priming treatments tested, L. saksenae spore suspension @ 107 spores mL-1 or its talc formulation @ 25 g kg-1 seed was found to significantly enhance the seedling vigour by 20 - 26 % under laboratory conditions. The primed plants under pot culture study, exhibited increased levels of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (20 – 140 %) and peroxidase (18 – 33 %) compared to control plants, indicating the trigger of defence pathway. Further, the silicon content (93 - 176 %) and phenol content (18 - 58 %) in leaves were enhanced indicating structural defence in the primed plants. Under open field conditions, there was 32 - 45 % reduction in rice bug infestation in the bioprimed plants. An additional foliar spray with the same treatments, during the milky stage, reduced the population of rice bug by 56 - 72 %, which was comparable with chemical control Lambda cyhalothrin 5% EC 1.5 ml L-1 (64 - 74 %). Simultaneously the percentage of chaffy grains were reduced to 13.58 ± 3.02 compared to control (31.78 ± 8.72). Infestation of rice stem borer and leaf roller was reduced by 31 to 36 % during the vegetative phase and 63 to 32 % during the reproductive stage. There was 12 - 40 % reduction in bacterial leaf blight and 21.5- 40.5 % reduction in sheath blight. Seed priming with L. saksenae thus represents a superior, ecologically sound biopriming method, that offers pest and disease tolerance in paddy.
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