Application of fruit juice for proliferation of Bacillus to control fungal phytopathogens

Abstract

Plant-based media have recently been of interest as potential natural media for microbial culture. This study was conducted to apply inexpensive and available fruits to culture Bacillus antagonizing three fungal phytopathogens including Phytophthora capsici GTC 2.6.1, Rhizoctonia solani GTC 2.7.1, and Sclerotium rolfsii GTC 2.9.1. The results showed that the juice media of dragon fruit, Cavendish banana, watermelon, pineapple, and MT1 seedless guava could all be used to culture two screened antagonistic Bacillus strains including B08 and B18. Surveys on the media from watermelon juice indicated that juice concentration (based on mass of fruit pulp), initial pH, concentration of traditional medium added to the juice medium had different effects on the growth of two strains of Bacillus sp. B08 and B18. These preliminary results demonstrated the potential application of the juice in biomass production of antagonistic Bacillus strains. This approach is certainly safe for the environment and has the potential to improve fruit consumption and reduce the cost of microbial fertilizer production, so it needs more research attention.