Dual plate assay
The fungal growth inhibition capacity of Bacillus sp.
strains was determined (Huang and Hoes 1976). A few
modifications were made to suit the need. One 5-mm disc
of a pure culture of the pathogen was placed at the centre of
a Petri dish containing PDA. The Bacillus sp. was inoculated
at two opposing corners. Plates were incubated for
72 h, at 28 C, and growth diameter of the pathogen was
measured and compared to control growth, where the
bacterial suspension was replaced by sterile distilled water.
Each experiment using a single pathogen isolate was run in
triplicate. Results were expressed as the means of the
percentage of inhibition of growth of the corresponding
pathogen isolate in the presence of any of the strain of
Bacillus sp.
Percent inhibition was calculated using the following
formula:
% inhibition ¼ ½1 ðFungal growth/Control growthÞ
100: