Relationship between Growth Parameters and Disease Incidence
In this research the various treatments reduced disease incidence and promoted growth parameters compared to the control in the greenhouse. They were all effective in promoting tomato growth which led to increase in the shoot and root dry weight compared to the control. This is because where Bacillus spp or and their by products are applied to plants, the outcome is disease control (Gardener 2004).
According to (Singh et al. 2008), chirpine seeds treated with B. subtilis BN1 demonstrated early seed emergence, viability and increased biomass. In comparison to uninoculated seeds and seeds infested with M. phaseolina, disease severity was significantly reduced. B sphaericus and B. brevis -2 increased plant length significantly while B. megaterium, B. polymyxa, B. sphaericus, B. brevis -1 and B. thuringiensis in- creased significantly by 30-54% the number of pods. Pod weight was increased by 25% while seed yield by 35% in plants treated with B. thuringiensis (de Freitas et al. 1997).