Microbial inoculants offer an environmentally friendly approach to enhance plant growth and control disease. In this study, two Bacillus velezensis strains, HKSSLJEBR3 (R3) and Ya-1 were isolated from pepper plant roots and tropical rainforest soil, respectively. Both strains exhibited strong antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. capsici , with inhibition rates of 48.54 ± 0.66% for R3 and 49.35 ± 1.44% for Ya-1. In greenhouse trials, R3 significantly boosted pepper growth, with a 22.12% increase in…