GRANULAR FORMULATION OF FUNGAL AND BACTERIAL BIOCONTROL AGENTS WITH ENHANCED SHELF LIFE FOR THE CONTROL OF SOIL BORNE DISEASES AND BIOFERTILITY

摘要

The invention relates to a granular bio-control composition having enhanced shelf-life comprising (i) at least one beneficial biocontrol agents, which colonizes the rhizosphere of the crops; (ii) at least one suitable membrane stabilizer; (iii) at least one slow release nutrient; (iv) a suitable binder; and (v) at least one osmoprotectant. The invention provides a process for the preparation of the granular biocontrol agent comprising the steps of growing the biocontrol agent in suitable liquid medium and concentrating the cells and spore suspension by centrifugation; suspending the concentrated suspension in 0.01M phosphate buffer; mixing the cell suspension with combination of osmoprotectants (15-40% of total dry weight of formulation), PVP (0.5-5%), water-absorbent material (0.1-0.5%), sodium alginate (1-5%), granulator(5-20%) and slow release nutrients (30-60%) to form dough, mixing the dough with vegetable oil and extruding through hand-held granulator to form long strands cut into 3-5 mm lengths and air drying the granules by passing stream of cool air.