Comparative bioefficacy of and chitinase against in tea ( (L.) O.Kuntze.

Tea ( (L.) O.Kuntze) is an industry-oriented economical crop in India. Among the sap sucking pests, tea mosquito bug () is one of the most serious pests causing heavy crop loss in tea plantation. Continuous use of chemical pesticides causes environmental pollution and health hazards besides developing pesticide residues in tea powder. The control of pests by bacterial metabolite is an alternative that may contribute to reduce or eliminate the chemical pesticide use. The use of chitinase as a biological control is an emerging field of research. In the present study, Chitinase (~ 25 kDa) was purified from C-13 strain using gel-filtration chromatography and further characterized for its optimum pH, temperature and substrate specificity. Bioefficacy of chitinase from C-13 was compared with our previously reported  MP-13 chitinase against . Result concluded that, 100% and 78% mortality was observed by using MP-13 chitinase and C-13 chitinase, respectively. In future, bacterial chitinase can be utilized in eco-friendly pest management strategies.