EVALUATION OF BIOCONTROL EFFICIENCY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC BACTERIA AGAINST TOBACCO CATERPILLAR (Spodoptera litura F.) IN SOLANACEOUS VEGETABLE CROPS GROWN IN SEEDLING TRAYS UNDER GREENHOUSE CONDITION

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to test the biocontrol efficiency of entomopathogenic bacteria in solanaceous vegetable crops grown in seedling trays under greenhouse conditions. Spodoptera litura is one of the serious pest in solanaceous vegetable crops namely tomato, brinjal, chilli and capsicum. Entomopathogenic bacteria, Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus were tested for their biocontrol efficiency with individual as well as consortia of bacteria isolates with Bacillus thuringiensis as reference strain. Among the treatments, T 9 treatment received all the five entomopathogenic bacteria had shown 93 % of biocontrol efficiency in brinjal and 89% in tomato, chilli and capsicum. In case of treatments groups received individual organisms’ treatment T 3 imposed with EPB3 (Xenorhabdus sp.) had shown significantly higher biocontrol efficiency of 75% followed by T 2 imposed with EPB1 (Photorhabdus luminescence) with 65% compared to the reference strain B. thuringiensis with ~50% biocontrol efficiency. Apart from the biocontrol efficiency, these entomopathogenic bacteria had shown significant effect in enhancing the seedling vigour of the vegetable crops. Further these entomopathogenic bacteria can be tested for their effectivity under field trails and can be developed as bio-pesticide formulations either in the form of individual application or in integrated pest management for plant protection practices.