146 © 2022 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. REDUCING PRATYLENCHUS POPULATION IN COFFEE SEEDLING WITH MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI AND MYCORRHIZA HELPER BACTERIA Reginawanti Hindersah 1+ Iis Nur Asyiah 2 Rita Harni 3 Dwi Suci Rahayu 4 Betty Natalie Fitriatin 5 1,5 Faculty of Agriculture, Padjadjaran University, Sumedang, Indonesia. 1 Email: reginawanti@unpad.ac.id 5 Email: betty.natalie@unpad.ac.id 2 Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Jember, Jember, Indonesia. 2 Email: iisnaza.fkip@unej.ac.id 3 Indonesian Centre for Estate Crop Research and Development, Sukabumi, Indonesia. 3 Email: rita_harni@yahoo.co.id 4 Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, Jember, Indonesia. 4 Email: ds.rahayu13@yahoo.com (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 16 June 2022 Revised: 10 August 2022 Accepted: 26 August 2022 Published: 20 September 2022 Keywords Glomus spp Pseudomonas diminuta Bacillus subtilis Nematode population Plant biomass Plant growth. The attack of Pratylenchus coffeae nematode on coffee seedlings can limit coffee growth. The use of beneficial microbes as biofertilizer and bioprotectant is suggested to reduce the nematode attack on coffee seedlings and improve growth. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to observe the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus spp. and mycorrhiza helper bacteria (MHB) P. diminuta and B. subtilis on coffee seedling growth and P. coffeae populations in the soil and roots. The experiment was set up in a randomized block design with five treatments and three replications. The coffee seedlings were grown in potting soil and inoculated with Glomus spp. combined with 20 g or 30 g of MHB solid inoculant. Seedlings were grown in the greenhouse for 10 weeks. The experiment verified that AMF inoculation combined with MHB did not affect the plant height, leaf number, or plant dry weight but decreased the P. coffeae population in the soil and roots of the seedlings. Inoculation of 20 g of MHB solid inoculant with AMF was more effective in reducing nematode population in soil and roots than 30 g of MHB. This experiment verified that Glomus spp., as well as P. diminuta and B. subtilis enable the control of P. coffeae in coffee seedlings. Contribution/Originality: This experiment is including the newest way to reduce the population of P. coffeae in soil as well roots of Arabica coffee by inoculating mycorrhiza helper bacteria which also has a prominent role as bioprotectant and biofertilizer. 1. INTRODUCTION Indonesia is the third largest coffee-producing country in the world after Brazil and Vietnam. Coffee plantations generate foreign exchange and income for farmers and coffee traders at the regional and national levels. The variety of coffee cultivated in Indonesia is generally Arabica due to its adaptability to altitudes of 1,000 m above sea level. Increasing coffee production requires fertilization management since most of the soils in coffee plantations naturally contain low nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Another challenge for optimizing coffee cultivation in the tropics is reducing the attack of the endoparasitic nematode Pratylenchus coffeae, which damages roots and inhibits nutrient uptake by the roots. P. coffeae attack the cortical parenchyma, limiting the water absorption and nutrient uptake, and then cause serious root lesions (Yu et al., 2012). International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Research 2022 Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 146-151. ISSN(e): 2312-6477 ISSN(p): 2313-0393 DOI: 10.18488/ijsar.v9i3.3134 © 2022 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved.