Antagonistic activity of xylotrophic mushrooms against pathogenic fungi of cereals in dual culture

Abstract

The antagonistic activity of 17 species of xylotrophic Basidiomycotina (Coriolus versicolor, Flammulina velutipes, Ganoderma lucidum, Hypholoma fasciculare, H. sublateritium, Kuhneromyces mutabilis, Lentinula edodes, Lentinus tigrinus, Pholiota alnicola, Ph. aurivella, Ph. destruens, Pleurotus ostreatus, P. cornucopiae, Polyporus squamosus, P. subarcularius, P. varius and Schizophyllum commune) against 4 fungi (Bipolaris sorokiniana, Fusarium culmorum, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici and Rhizoctonia cerealis), responsible for foot and root diseases of winter cereals, were tested in dual-culture experiments on potato-dextrose agar. Almost all tested mushroom species markedly inhibited mycelial growth of the four phytopathogenic fungi, antagonistic activity of P. ostreatus, H. fasciculare, G. lucidum, L. tigrinus and S. commune being particularly strong. Inhibiting activity mainly comprised two reactions: deadlock, consisting in mutual inhibition at a distance or at mycelial contact, and replacement, consisting in initial deadlock followed by partial or complete overgrowth.