ABSTRACT
Pulses are an important source of nutrition that provides us with our daily requirement of proteins. The majority of the Indian population depends on pulses for their proteins, as it is popularly known as ‘poor man’s meat’. The production of pulses needs to be increased so that its demand can be met. Several biotic and abiotic factors limit the production of pulses, of which soilborne diseases are a major cause. Since application of chemical pesticides is harmful to the environment, eco-friendly management of pests and pathogens is an emerging trend in the field of agriculture. Several studies have been performed on application of bacteria as a biological control agent in managing diseases. Bacteria belonging to the genus Pseudomonas and Bacillus are often considered as efficient biocontrol agents, but there are other groups of bacteria that can also show antagonistic responses against major diseases. For management of wilt and rot diseases of different pulses, bacterial biocontrol agents can either be applied during seed treatment or as a biofertilizer. So far, studies on exploitation of bacterial biological control agents in managing soilborne pathogens of pulses are limited only to the wilt and rot diseases. To have a clear knowledge about the biological control agents that can prevent different diseases of pulses, further studies need to be done to ensure a sustainable and efficient management technique.
