Use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGDB) for promoting tomato growth and its evaluation as biological control agent.

The plant growth promoting effect of some bacteria usable to control plant diseases has a potential for resolving technical problems of plant production. The effects of Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola ICMP11096 on development of tomato seedlings development and control of their infection by Fusarium oxysporum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were evaluated in the present study. Bacterized plants showed a higher shoot and root weight and a more extended root system in terms of total length and root density than non-bacterized plants. The bacter-izing treatments gave rise to significant reduction of disease symptoms such as leaf wilting induced by F. oxysporum infection and/or root ne-crosis and leaf yellowing by S. sclerotiorum. The potential use of Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola ICMP11096 in biocontrol of fungal patho-gens and to enhance seedling growth parameters is underlined as a tool to achieve a high commercial quality of nursery tomato plants.