Endophytic bacteria of eggplant, cucumber and groundnut were isolated from different locations of Goa, India. Based on in vitro screening, 28 bacterial isolates which effectively inhibited Ralstonia solanacearum, a bacterial wilt pathogen of the eggplant were characterized and identified. More than 50% of these isolates were Pseudomonas fluorescens in which a vast degree of variability was found to exist when biochemical characteristics were compared. In greenhouse experiments, the plants treated with Pseudomonas isolates (EB9, EB67), Enterobacter isolates (EB44, EB89) and Bacillus isolates (EC4, EC13) reduced the wilt incidence by more than 70%. All the selected isolates reduced damping off by more than 50% and improved the growth of seedlings in the nursery stage. Most of the selected antagonists produced an antibiotic, DAPG, which inhibited R. solanacearum under in vitro conditions and might have been responsible for reduced wilt incidence under in vivo conditions. Also production of siderophores and IAA in the culture medium by the antagonists was recorded, which could be involved in biocontrol and growth promotion in crop plants. From our study we conclude that Pseudomonas is the major antagonistic endophytic bacteria from eggplants which have the potential to be used as a biocontrol agent as well as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Large scale field evaluation and detailed knowledge on antagonistic mechanism could provide an effective biocontrol solution for bacterial wilt of solanaceous crops.

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Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the solanaceous crops of economic and cultural importance and is widely cultivated in the state of Goa, India. Eggplant cultivation is severely affected by bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum that colonizes the xylem tissue. In this study, 167 bacteria were isolated from the xylem of healthy eggplant, chilli, and Solanum torvum Sw. by vacuum infiltration and maceration. Amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) grouped these xylem residing bacteria (XRB) into 38 haplotypes. Twenty-eight strains inhibited growth of R. solanacearum and produced volatile and diffusible antagonistic compounds and plant growth promoting substances in vitro. Antagonistic strains XB86, XB169, XB177, and XB200 recorded a biocontrol efficacy greater than 85% against BW and exhibited 12%–22 % increase in shoot length in eggplant in the greenhouse screening. 16S rRNA based identification revealed the presence of 23 different bacterial genera. XRB with high biocontrol and plant growth promoting activities were identified as strains of Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Streptomyces sp., Enterobacter sp., and Agrobacterium sp. This study is the first report on identity of bacteria from the xylem of solanaceous crops having traits useful in cultivation of eggplant.

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This is the first report on endophytic bacteria of class Gammaproteobacteria and phylum Actinobacteria having 3OH-PAME degrading activity. This study demonstrates the potential use of endophytic bacteria as quorum quenching biocontrol agents for management of bacterial wilt in eggplant.