Development of broad spectrum liquid formulations of Trichoderma species for management of important soil borne diseases of vegetable crops

Abstract

In recent years, interest in the development of biopesticide technologies was the top newlinepriority to reduce the application of hazardous chemical pesticides in agriculture. Moreover, newlinecommercial development and market success of biopesticides depend upon the broad spectrum newlineactivity of formulated biocontrol agents and their onsite ease of application. Also, the market newlinepenetration of biopesticide products for pest control management has seen a significant increase newlinein the recent years. In this context, Trichoderma species are considered as one of the most active newlineantagonistic fungi, having broad spectrum biocontrol activity against several phytopathogens. newlineTheir biocontrol activity is primarily due to the mycoparasitism of pathogenic fungi, nutrient newlinecompetition, antibiosis through secretion of hydrolytic enzymes and secondary metabolites. newlineMoreover, it also induces plant defence network to empower the plant against invading newlinepathogens. newlineSoil hydrological parameters highly influence the activities of Trichoderma such as spore newlinegermination, germ tube, and mycelial growth along with antagonistic properties. Thus, selection newlineof a potent Trichoderma strain for formulation development is an important criterion for its newlinesuccessful application in different geographical locations. In the present study, different strains newlineof Trichoderma spp. were isolated from rhizospheric soils of various agricultural fields of eastern newlineUttar Pradesh, India. These Trichoderma isolates were screened for spore survivability at high newlinetemperature and the selected Trichoderma isolates were further screened for their mycelial newlinegrowth at different salt concentrations under in vitro conditions. Among all the Trichoderma newlineisolates, BHUT6 and BHUT8 were highly salt tolerant under in vitro condition and showed good newlinegrowth up to 1400 mM NaCl concentration. newline