Biological Control of African Violets Root-Knot Disease: The Application Extracellular Protease Bacillus

The present study explored the efficacy of Bacillus spp. and protease production for biocontrol of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica in African violet media. Among 100 bacterial isolates from various soils, the highest nematode mortality was observed for treatments with isolate GM-18, which was identified as Bacillus subtilis based on cultural and morphological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequencing analyses. The Bacillus spp. showed nematicidal activity 74.01 to 28.33. Strain GM18 showed the most inhibitor zone in medium containing casein (13 mm) and nematicidal activity in our tests targeting Meloidogyne javanica. The effect of different variables such as time (1-24 h), pH (7- 8.5), and temperature (25- 37 °C) on the protease production was checked. The maximum enzyme production was noted when B. subtilis GM18 was grown on mineral medium and incubated at 31°C for 12 h with initial pH = 8. Three protease inhibitors that had the greatest influence on EDTA were studied. Protease produced by B. subtilis GM18 belonged to different groups.