The Streptomyces spp. used in this work were previously isolated as diazotrophic endophytes from sorghum stems. Here, we characterized the Streptomyces spp. for their colonization ability, plant growth promotion and protection against fungal disease in three cereals. In vitro analysis by dual culture study showed inhibitory effect on the rice pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae B157 along with inhibition of the ubiquitous phytopathogen Rhizoctonia solani by the Streptomyces spp. used in this study. The active compounds responsible for phytopathogen inhibition were extracted with ethyl acetate and tested positive against the fungal pathogens. GC-MS based identification of the active compounds responsible for fungal pathogen inhibition showed them to be 2-(chloromethyl)-2-cyclopropyloxirane, 2, 4- ditert-butylphenol and 1-ethylthio-3-methyl-1, 3-butadiene in extracts of culture supernatants from the three different strains respectively. EGFP tagged Streptomyces strains showed profuse colonization in roots as well as aerial parts of cereal plants. Direct inhibitory action against M. oryzae B157 and R. solani correlated with the observation that upon fungal pathogen challenge, the bacterized rice, sorghum and wheat plants showed significantly good plant growth, particularly in aerial parts as compared to unbacterized controls. In addition, benefit was seen in inoculated healthy plants in terms of increase in wet weight of roots and shoots as compared to the uninoculated controls. The mechanism of biocontrol also involved induction of plant defense response as evidenced by the upregulation of PR10a, NPR1, PAL and LOX2 in Streptomyces colonized plants.

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Aquilaria malaccensis, categorized by IUCN as globally vulnerable, is in high demand in the Middle East and Asian markets for its unique resinous agarwood. In August 2015, symptoms of dieback were observed on A. malaccensis trees planted in the Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Garden, Panbari, Golaghat of the Assam Forest Department. The entire crowns of 70 trees showed complete leaf loss and severe dieback. Rotting at the collar region and of roots was also observed. Isolation from the infected roots consistently yielded Fusarium equiseti identified following standard laboratory procedures and analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of the ribosomal DNA. Symptoms of wilt, dieback and root rot were observed on 5‐month‐old Aquilaria seedlings 25 days after inoculation with the isolated fungus. This paper is the first report of F. equiseti causing wilt and dieback of A. malaccensis.