AUTHOR=Khokhar M. K. , Kumar Rakesh , Kumar Anoop , Sehgal Mukesh , Singh S. P. , Meena P. N. , Singh Niranjan , Acharya L. K. , Birah Ajanta , Singh Kartar , Bana R. S. , Gurjar M. S. , Chander Subhash , Choudhary Manoj 

TITLE=Impact of IPM practices on microbial population and disease development in transplanted and direct-seeded rice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1388754

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1388754

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Integrated pest management (IPM) is a comprehensive approach to managing diseases, focusing on combining various strategies to reduce pathogen populations effectively and in an environmentally conscious way. We investigated the effects of IPM on beneficial microbial populations and its relationship with pathogen populations in both direct-seeded rice (DSR) and transplanted rice (TR) systems. This study demonstrates that IPM practices have significantly higher populations of beneficial microbes, such as <italic>Trichoderma harzianum</italic> and <italic>Pseudomonas fluorescens</italic>, and lower level of the pathogen <italic>Fusarium verticillioides</italic> compared to non-IPM (farmer practices). The average mean population of <italic>T. harzianum</italic> was 6.38 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g in IPM compared to 3.22 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g in non-IPM during 2019 in TR at Bambawad. <italic>P. fluorescens</italic> mean population in 2019 was significantly higher in IPM (4.67 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g) than in non-IPM (3.82 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g) at the Karnal location in DSR. The <italic>F. verticillioides</italic> populations were significantly lower in IPM fields (9.46 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g) compared to non-IPM fields (11.48 × 10<sup>3</sup> CFU/g) during 2017 at Haridwar in TR. Over three years, a significant increase in the populations of beneficial microbes in IPM plots was observed in all three locations of both TR and DSR, highlighting the sustainable impact of IPM practices. Disease dynamics analysis revealed that IPM effectively managed key diseases in both DSR and TR systems, with significant correlations between microbial density and disease severity. A significant positive correlation was recorded between <italic>F. verticillioides</italic> population and bakanae incidence at all three locations. Sheath blight incidence was negatively correlated with <italic>P. fluorescens</italic> population in both TR and DSR. In DSR, bacterial blight and brown spot diseases are reduced with the increased population of <italic>T. harzianum</italic>. Bioagents <italic>T. harzianum</italic> and <italic>P. fluorescens</italic> reduced disease incidence, underscoring the role of beneficial microbes in disease suppression and their importance for sustainable production using IPM practices.</p>