POTENTIAL OF P. AERUGINOSA CD6C AS ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY BIO-FUNGICIDE

The current study was conducted at Microbiology Laboratory, Auriga Group of Companies, Lahore duing 2019, aimed for screening and isolating a biocontrol agent that inhibits Macrophomina phaseolina (M. phaseolina) and Fusarium incarnatum (F. incarnatum) growth by reducing disease incidence and increases maize agronomic performance. A plate culture assay was used to screen biocontrol agent for fungal pathogens such as M. phaseolina and F. incarnatum responsible for charcoal foot rot and stalk rot. Among 37 isolates, CD6C isolated from press mud, demonstrated a substantial antifungal potential. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed 100% similarity between CD6C and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The growth inhibition % during plate culture assay for M. phaseolina and F. incarnatum was 46.5 + 1.9 and 49.8 + 1.1, respectively. The supernatant also had the best antifungal activity against charcoal rots caused by M. phaseolina in comparison to the control during the pot experiment. P. aeruginosa CD6C treatment showed a decline in maize foot rot caused by M. phaseolina. Research findings showed that P. aeruginosa CD6C could impede M. phaseolina growth and exacerbate maize plant growth parameters. The data support discovering more antifungal compounds from P. aeruginosa CD6C, which can lead to competent and successful pathogen biocontrol treatment. Moreover, study suggested that P. aeruginosa CD6C was found to be auspicious for maize plant and should be promoted for plant growth enhancement and suppression of fungal diseases by scaling down chemical pesticides for pollution control.