Bacillus species are found to be abundant in the terrestrial ecosystem. In this study, native Bacillus species associated with different horticultural crops growing in different districts of Tamil Nadu were isolated and identified. In total of 40 isolates collected, 30 isolates were identified as Bacillus species using morphological and biochemical characterization. These 30 Bacillus isolates were investigated for their plant growth promotion and temperature tolerance properties. The effective isolate from the above studies viz., Bbs 1 was taken for further molecular characterization and lipopeptide production. Efficacy of the lipopeptide antibiotics were tested against root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in vitro at different concentration of the compound and it was found that 25 per cent concentration of the lipopeptide compound was effective in reducing the eggs and juveniles of M. incognita.

Keywords: Bacillus, Growth promotion, Temperature tolerance, Lipopeptides, Nematodes