Harnessing novel endophytes to combat potato common scab

Abstract

Potato is cultivated all around the world and it is poor man’s food. Marketed and economical value of potatoes deteriorates due to several abiotic and biotic stresses, among this common scab is major ones. Common scab is caused by various Streptomyces species, but major one is Streptomyces scabies. This pathogen can be managed by various biological as well as chemical treatments. In biological control endophyte is a major one, so isolation of pathogen and efficacy was checked. A total of 20 endophytic isolates were successfully obtained and screened for antagonistic efficacy against S. scabies. Five efficient endophyte bacterial isolates tested, PET-19 (Alcaligenes aquatilis), PER-17 (Bacillus altitudinis) and PER-2 (Serratia marcescens) showed the highest antagonistic activity.