#Early blight tomato trial

Bacteria-based biocontrol agents are powerful, bio-safer, and sustainable alternatives for profitable agricultural productivity, whereas specific strains of Bacillus subtilis have been proved effective in controlling many fungal diseases including EB disease because of the broad-spectrum activity of their antibiotics ( Awan et al., 2019 Shoaib et al., 2019). Therefore, there is a need to evolve crave alternative disease management approaches that would be supportive of sustainable agriculture without disturbing the environment. For EB disease management, farmers mainly rely on agrochemicals (fungicides), but their undue usage and over-reliance have raised concerns for food safety, pathogen resistance, soil degradation, and environmental sustainability ( Nashwa and Abo-elyousr, 2012 Adhikari et al., 2017).

It causes economically important early blight (EB) disease that displayed >80% yield losses in Pakistan ( Awan et al., 2019). Alternaria solani is one of the most lethal tomato-infecting biotic restraints for its cultivation in the moist and warm tropical regions of the globe ( Meitei et al., 2014). Pakistan is one of the major producers of tomatoes, although its production and export are quite low annually due to the unavailability of high-yielding cultivars and the least resistance to biotic and abiotic constraints ( Pervaiz et al., 2018). Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an economically important fruity vegetable cultivated and consumed worldwide, because it is a rich source of vitamins (A, B, C, and K), minerals (Fe, P, K Ca, Zn, and Mg), sugars, organic acids, essential amino acids, dietary fibers, and antioxidants ( Bauchet et al., 2017). This integrated approach is put forward as a way to reduce the fungicide doses to control EB that would act as a sustainable plant protection strategy to generate profitable tomato production. Besides, the complementary interaction of BS-01 + Zn + NPK worked synergistically to improve crop productivity by providing the highest marketable yield (21.61 tons acre –1) and net profit (361,363 Pakistani rupees acre –1). In addition, the integrative effect of BS-01 and plant nutrients proved significantly effective in reducing pathogen load on inoculated tomato foliage, displaying the desired level of protection against A. Our results revealed that the interactive effect of BS-01 with plant nutrients conferred significantly a varying degree of resilience in the infected tomato plants against EB by effectively modifying the content of total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and total phenolics along with the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POX, PPO, and PAL). solani was estimated by quantitative PCR assays, where the foliar application of BS-01 on tomato plants either alone or in combination with the plant nutrients was done as a preventive measure. In addition, the biocontrol efficacy of B.

#Early blight tomato trial

The trial was set in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and comprised nine treatments of a biocontrol agent (BS-01) either alone or in combination with the plant nutrients, viz., NPK (64:46:50 kg acre –1) and Zn (10 kg acre –1) as sustainable disease managing approach against EB. A field experiment was conducted for the off-season tomato production (under walk-in tunnels) in Punjab, Pakistan.

The current study was aimed to assess the integrated effect of a biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis (BS-01) and the selective plant nutrients (NPK and Zn) on EB disease management and tomato crop performance. Biocontrol agent/s can be adequately implemented in an integrated management framework by using it in combination with vital plant nutrients, e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and zinc (Zn). 4Botany and Microbiology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaĮarly blight (EB) is one of the major fungal diseases caused by Alternaria solani that is responsible for destructive tomato production around the globe.

3Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.2School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.1Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.Zoia Arshad Awan 1*, Amna Shoaib 1, Muhammad Sarmad Iftikhar 2, Basit Latief Jan 3 and Parvaiz Ahmad 4