Local isolates of rhizobacteria associated with rice rhizosphere were evaluated against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Twenty-three rhizobacteria were isolated from the rice-growing provinces of Caraga Region, Philippines, and their antagonistic activity were… More

Local isolates of rhizobacteria associated with rice rhizosphere were evaluated against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Twenty-three rhizobacteria were isolated from the rice-growing provinces of Caraga Region, Philippines, and their antagonistic activity were evaluated against Xoo causing bacterial leaf blight (BLB) on rice using well diffusion assay method. Among the isolates evaluated, three (FVP 08, FVP 09, and FVP 22) were found highly antagonistic against the test pathogen with a clear and strong degree of the zone of inhibition. The three rhizobacterial antagonists were further evaluated for biological control against Xoo under greenhouse condition. The application of these rhizobacterial antagonists on inoculated rice plants showed shorter lesion length, effectively suppressed the bacterial leaf blight and managed to reduce the severity of BLB. Less

Microflora from selected ukay-ukay clothing in Valencia City, Bukidnon were isolated and identified, and the effectiveness of commonly used antimicrobial agents against the microbial isolates was assessed through a standard antimicrobial disc diffusion assay. The effectiveness of conventional hand washing… More

Microflora from selected ukay-ukay clothing in Valencia City, Bukidnon were isolated and identified, and the effectiveness of commonly used antimicrobial agents against the microbial isolates was assessed through a standard antimicrobial disc diffusion assay. The effectiveness of conventional hand washing and sun drying in eradicating the microbes from ukay-ukay clothing was also assessed. Nine bacteria namely; Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus sp., Enterobacter agglomerans, E. aerogenes, E. hafniae, Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella arizonae, Serratia sp., Edwardsiella sp., and seven fungi namely; Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, A. nidulans, Penicillium glabrum, Rhizopus nigricans, Fusarium sp., Monilia sp. were recovered and identified. One fungal species remained unidentified. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that majority of the bacte-ria were susceptible to doxocycline, tetracycline, and norfloxacin. However, majority of the isolates were re-sistant to penicillin. Tioconazole was the most effective among the antifungal agents tested. Majority of the fungal isolates were resistant to sulfur+ZnO+salicylic acid, clotrimazole, benzoic acid+salicylic acid, ketocona-zole+clobetasol propionate and terbinafine hydrochloride. Reduction in colony counts after hand washing and sun drying reached 92.40% and 96.86% for bacteria and fungi, respectively. This study shows that ukay-ukay clothing harbor microbial pathogens with varying resistance/ susceptibility to popular antimicrobial agents. Less