Jornal de Ciências Agrícolas e Pesquisa de Alimentos
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Pea Protein Alginate Encapsulated Bacillus subtilis B26, a Plant Biostimulant, Provides Controlled Release and Increased Storage Survival

François Gagné-Bourque, Meng Xu, Marie-Josée Dumont and Suha Jabaji

Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) represent a wide variety of soil and endophytic bacteria that have the ability to promote growth or to protect against stress of its host plant. Encapsulation of PGPB, using vegetable proteins instead of animal or petroleum-derived polymers, is a new technology to crop production and protection. Pea protein isolates (PPI) alginate capsules were synthesized and used for the protection and delivery of Bacillus subtilis B26 as plant inoculum for agricultural applications. The capsules provided a protective site to B26 strain allowing good survival, between 45 to 50%, after 112 days of incubation at different temperatures. The loaded microcapsules sustained a large population of bacteria, up to 8.3 LogCFUg-1 of soil after 3 weeks post application. The soil concentration stabilized to 7.3 Log CFUg-1 after 8 weeks post application. Capsules loaded with B26, once incorporated in the soil, successfully colonized test plants, and cell numbers inside plant tissues were sustained at 3.5 and 3.3 Log 7.3 CFUg-1 in the root and the shoot respectively. These results indicate that PPIalginate technology represents a good choice for commercial application of B. subtilis B26 in agriculture.