The Control of Rice Blast Disease by the Novel Biofungicide Formulations

Abstract

The study aims to develop novel biofungicide formulations against rice blast disease. A total of 300 rhizobacteria strains were isolated from rice field soil and were examined for the inhibition of Magnaporthe oryzae growth in a vitro test. Among them, only six rhizobacteria showed inhibition against M. oryzae. The three strains that showed the highest inhibition were Bacillus subtilis 5, B. cereus 3S5, and Pseudomonas fluorecens 10S2. A rice hull mixture and liquid medium were mixed with the above-mentioned bacterial suspensions into three bacterial formulas and tested separately on the rice cultivar UPLRi-5 after infection by M. oryzae under a controlled condition. The three novel biofungicide formulas significantly inhibited rice blast disease intensity with a mean disease control rate being approximately 31% higher than the control. The formulas proved to be effective and should be considered as promising novel treatments for rice blast disease.