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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Entomopathogenic fungal bioagent, Beauveria bassiana is a potential target specific and eco friendly alternative for chemical control. B. bassiana despite being highly pathogenic to insects in the laboratory condition, it is less efficient in the field condition because, the external application of spray formulations of B. bassiana adversely get affected by abiotic factors. To reduce this limitation, endophytes have received considerable attention as a promising supplement or alternative to chemical control. This work aims to establish entomopathogen B. bassiana as endophyte into cotton plant system by artificial inoculation methods. B. bassiana was inoculated into cotton plant by four different methods viz., seed immersion, seed coating, foliar spray and soil drenching. The recovery of B. bassiana and other endophytic fungi was evaluated by culture methods at one month and two months of post inoculation. Among the different inoculation methods, the foliar application method recorded with highest colonization percentage. The B. bassiana was recovered from cotton plant parts even at two months after inoculation. In addition to B. bassiana recovery, the maximum of 157 numbers of other endophytic fungi were also obtained at two months post-inoculation, followed by 144 numbers at one month post inoculation. The results revealed that, B. bassiana can able to establish as endophyte in cotton plants.