I need to study the effect of some fungicide and insecticides on the growth rate of the Bacillus subtilis biological agent. What is the Appropriate method for that?
You can simply use the EC 50 of each fungicide as expressed in terms of concentration, afterwards, determine the % growth rate and compare with the control.
You can go for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. MIC is the lowest concentration of a chemical which prevents visible growth of a bacterium.
Add the various pesticides to liquid cultures of your biocontraol agent. The evaluate the viability of your cultures after exposure by plating and counting Cfu's (you would do this before treatment too, so that you can determine the effect / death rate if any )
You need to check the viability and growth of your bacillus in the culture media after exposing it to the lowest inhibitory pesticide concentration. I have used the same approach to screening attractants for their compatibility with entomopathogenic fungi. Read this paper to get inspiration: Article African Journal of Biotechnology Screening for attractants c...
This depends on whether you are interested in knowing the effect of these materials in vitro or in vivo. Previous research has demonstrated that the impacts of some compounds in culture may not be the same as the impact on seeds (e.g. https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/9456/PDF) on on plants (e.g. http://www.sbreb.org/research/plant/plant97/97p334.htm, Article Efficacy of the biocontrol agents Bacillus subtilis and Ampe...
) These include some of the application methods that have been used.