Preparation and evaluation of Bacillus megaterium-alginate microcapsules for control of rice sheath blight disease

Bacillus megaterium encapsulated in calcium alginate microcapsules was prepared and tested for its efficacy against sheath blight disease of rice. In laboratory conditions, the aqueous suspension (1:100, v/v in potato dextrose agar) of the bacterial microcapsules (10¹⁰ spores/ml) inhibited mycelial growth of Rhizoctonia solani (>99 %) after the microcapsules were produced and stored for 12 months at room temperature (28 ± 2 °C). The survival of the bacterium in the microcapsules in response to ultraviolet (u.v.) irradiation and high temperature was investigated. The survivability of the bacterium in the encapsulated form was greater than that of the fresh cells when it was subjected to u.v. (20-W General electric u.v. lamp from a 25 cm distance for 48 h) and a high temperature treatment (80 °C for 48 h). Cells of the bacterium were detected by scanning electron microscope on both the leaf sheath and the leaf blade (in pot tests in a greenhouse) after spraying encapsulated product. The number of bacteria on the surface of both rice tissues (5 Log. number/g of plant) after spraying with encapsulated product was not significantly different from that after spraying with fresh cells onto the rice seedlings. Spraying the encapsulated B. megaterium on rice plants in the greenhouse was as effective as spraying a chemical fungicide for suppressing rice sheath blight disease.