Use of Bacterial Endophyte as a Control for White Aphid’s Infestation in Tobacco Plant

This study entails the effectiveness of colonization of bacterial endophytes as a way of controlling the attack of aphids in tobacco, following inoculation of the cells in plants. Pseudomonas parafulva Ros-1 were inoculated using foliar spraying and the treated was studied against the un-inoculated control in Nicotiana tabacum for 60 days. This was to ascertain whether P. parafulva can inhibit the infestation of aphids on the plant. The foliar parts of the plants were assessed post inoculation for their colonization by the pest. Significant differences at P < 0.05 of colonization were established between the inoculated and the control. Un-inoculated control demonstrated the highest infestation in the tobacco plant for the period of the test. Leaf inoculation of an endophytic strain of P. parafulva provides succor to the treat of aphids on tobacco plants. Growth index measured demonstrated a positive relationship between the inoculation of the endophyte and the growth parameters which included stem length and germination rate. This study, therefore, showed that the bacteria strain P. Parafulva Ros-1 as an endophyte of tobacco could be used to curb the infestation of aphids.