10 IMPROVEMENT OF FORMULATION EFFICACY
In general, though biocontrol agents perform well in the management of plant diseases, they are highly sensitive to the fluctuations in environmental conditions and are inconsistent in their performance. The consistency of biocontrol agents could be enhanced through several means without going in for genetic engineering. Since nature is bestowed with millions of beneficial microbes, development of compatible cocktail of beneficial microbes would increase the efficiency of their performance. Strategies to enhance the efficacy of biocontrol organisms include
1. Development of compatible consortia.
2. Strains that induce synergistic expression of biocontrol genes.
3. Adjuvants, spreaders and stickers.
4. Genetic engineering of PGPR strains.
5. Formulations comprising of compatible PGPR strains and plant inducers of chemical origin.