Biopriming of maize seeds with bio-inoculants reveals the suppression of post flower stalk rot incited by Macrophomina phaseolina

Maize is being an important cereal crop next to rice and wheat, its cultivation is hampered due to the infection of fungal and bacterial pathogens. Among the fungal pathogens, post flowering stalk rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina remains as a challenging issue in maize cultivation. Hence, to assess the efficacy of bio inoculants on the management of Macrophomina phaseolina, maize seeds COHM(8) were bioprimed with antagonists Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma koningiopsis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus licheniformis, and Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum during flowering stage pathogen was artificially inoculated in maize plants. Biopriming of maize seeds indicated that, priming with T. asperellum, T. koningiopsis at 1%, B. amyloliquefaciens at 5% significantly reduced the incidence on post flowering stalk rot of maize but there is no significant difference in growth parameters.