An efficient method for biological control of soil-borne plant pathogens using chitinolytic microrganisms

The effect of biological control on the severity of hot pepper wilt disease was evaluated in the vinyl house with plants cultivated in the nursery soil containing chitin and chitinolytic microorganisms. The chitinolytic microorganisms, Trichoderma harzianum and Chromobacterium sp. strain C-61, were well survived in the nursery soil containing chitin. The hot pepper damping-off was markedly suppressed in the nursery soil containing chitin and chitinolytic microorganisms. The survival of chitinolytic microorganisms and suppression of damping-off were superior as the amounts of chitin added to the nursery soil increased, but growth of hot pepper was inhibited in the 10％ (w/w) chitin treatment. When the plants cultivated in the nursery soil containing 1％ chitin and chitinolytic microorganisms were transplanted in the vinyl house, the vegetative growth increased and the wilt disease was reduced as comparison with those of control.