Amaranth ( Linn.) is an important pseudocereal crop having important nutrients along with the indispensable amino-acids. The present study was aimed to study the effect of plant growth promoting bacilli on proximate constituents of amaranth grains, including three of the essential amino acids (methionine, lysine and, tryptophan). The combination of and showed a significant increase in different proximate constituents, including crude protein (22.13%), dry matter (32.25%), fat (30.77%), and carbohydrate (49.08%) in amaranth grains. Similarly, a significant increase in essential amino-acids (methionine 47.68%, lysine 59.41% and, tryptophan 38.05%) was recorded. This study suggests that the combination of BS-27 and BS-58 provides the natural, persistent and durable potential to enhance the nutritive value of the crop. Therefore, present study was designed to explore the enhancement of most desirable amino acid synthesis in amaranth due to application of plant growth promoting spp.

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The study was aimed to isolate antagonistic lactobacilli and the molecules responsible for their antagonistic ability from curd. Preparation of probiotic curd and the ability of the selected lactobacilli to suppress the pathogen therein was also assessed. All the 116 isolates were identified as spp. based on morphological, biochemical and curdling assays. Five of these lactobacilli (Lb-17, Lb-33, Lb-108, Lb-112, and Lb-N3) were found most promising to inhibit all test pathogens (, ,, and). The cell-free culture supernatants of these five lactobacilli were recorded as thermo-tolerant when subjected to heat treatment at 100 °C for 20 min. The loss in the activity after protease treatment indicated the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial molecule present in the culture supernatants. Active protein (19 kDa) produced by lactobacilli was confirmed by SDS-PAGE followed by agar-overlay method. Antibiotic sensitivity assay revealed that the selected spp. isolates were resistant to methicillin and vancomycin. Probiotic curd prepared by using Lb-108 and Lb-N3 was found to be superior to rest of the three isolates based on organoleptic tests and shelf-life. Complete inhibition of all the test pathogens in curd was shown by Lb-108 and Lb-N3. Inhibition spectrum, production of thermostable protein and preparation of quality curd suggest Lb-108 and Lb-N3 as promising candidates to prepare probiotic curd.

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Plant diseases are one of the main hurdles for successful crop production and sustainable agriculture development world-wide. Though several chemical measures are available to manage crop diseases, many of them have serious side effects on humans, animals and the environment. Therefore, the use of such chemicals must be limited by using effective and eco-friendly alternatives. In view of the same, we found a Bacillus subtilis BS-58 as a good antagonist towards the two most devastating phytopathogens, i.e., Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. Both the pathogens attack several agricultural crops (including amaranth) and induce a variety of infections in them. The findings of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in this study suggested that B. subtilis BS-58 could inhibit the growth of both the pathogenic fungi by various means such as perforation, cell wall lysis, and cytoplasmic disintegration in the fungal hyphae. Thin-layer chromatography, LC–MS and FT-IR data revealed the antifungal metabolite to be macrolactin A with a molecular weight of 402 Da. Presence of the mln gene in the bacterial genome further endorsed that the antifungal metabolite produced by BS-58 was macrolactin A. Pot trial conducted in the present study showed that seed treatment by BS-58 effectively reduced seedling mortality (54.00 and 43.76%) in amaranth, when grown in pathogen infested soil (F. oxysporum and R. solani, respectively), when compared to their respective negative controls. Data also revealed that the disease suppression ability of BS-58 was almost equivalent to the recommended fungicide, carbendazim. SEM analysis of roots of the seedlings recovered from pathogenic attack substantiated the hyphal disintegration by BS-58 and prevention of amaranth crop. The findings of this study conclude that macrolactin A produced by B. subtilis BS-58 is responsible for the inhibition of both the phytopathogens and the suppression of the diseases caused by them. Being native and target specific, such strains under suitable conditions, may result in ample production of antibiotic and better suppression of the disease.

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