Reducing Pratylenchus Population in Coffee Seedling with Mycorrhizal Fungi and Mycorrhiza Helper Bacteria

Abstract

The attack of Pratylenchus coffeaenematode on coffee seedlingscan limit coffee growth.The use of beneficial microbes as biofertilizer and bioprotectant is suggested to reduce the nematode attack oncoffee seedlingsand improve growth. A greenhouse experiment wasconductedto observe the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomusspp. and mycorrhiza helper bacteria (MHB) P. diminutaand B. subtilison coffee seedling growth and P. coffeaepopulations in the soil and roots. The experiment was setup inarandomized block design with five treatments and three replications. The coffee seedlingswere grown in pottingsoil and inoculated with Glomusspp. combined with 20 g or 30 g of MHB solid inoculant. Seedlings were grown in the greenhouse for 10 weeks.The experiment verified that AMF inoculation combined with MHB didnot affectthe plant height, leafnumber,orplant dry weight but decreasedtheP. coffeaepopulation in the soil and roots of the seedlings.Inoculation of 20 g of MHB solid inoculant with AMF was more effective inreducingnematode population in soil and roots than 30 g of MHB. This experiment verifiedthat Glomusspp.,as well as P. diminutaand B. subtilisenable thecontrol ofP. coffeaeincoffee seedlings.