A promising microbial use on cocoa: decomposing cocoa waste and controlling Lasiodiplodia theobromae in-vitro

Abstract

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of number of potential microbes to decompose cocoa pod husk and to control the pathogen Lasiodiplodia theobromae in-vitro. This research consisted of several activities; investigating the ability of microbes to decompose cocoa pod husk while to test its effectiveness in controlling L. theobromae in both solid and liquid medium. The findings suggest that Trichoderma sp., Trametes sp., Pleurotus ostearotus, and bacterial consortium Microbat shown to perform an effectiveness in decomposing cocoa pod husk and in limiting filamentous growth of L. theobromae on both medium. Amongst trials, only isolate Trichoderma sp. shown to have a much higher restriction (66,84%) and performed a more considerable complete interaction i.e. antibiosis, competition for space and nutrients, mycoparasitism and lysis before other Microbial isolate shown to restrict filamentous growth of pathogen on both medium.