Compost tea as biofungicides to suppress Sclerotium rolfsii on soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.)

Abstract

One of the important diseases that can reduce the productivity of soybean is damping-off disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. This disease can be controlled by using synthetic pesticides. However, excessive use of pesticides can cause pollution to the environment and the resistance of the pathogen to pesticides. This study aims to determine the effect of compost tea of worm dropping in suppressing the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii, the causal agent of damping-off disease of soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr). This research was carried out in a glasshouse and Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Mataram. The experiments were arranged according to Completely Randomized Design (CRD), which consist of 2 types of compost tea, namely compost tea, which was produced through the aeration process (Aerated Compost Tea-ACT) and produced without aeration process (Non aerated Compost Tea-NCT). The experiment consisted of 7 treatments and replicated 3 times, namely; Control, ACT without dilution, ACT with 10−1 dilution, ACT with 10−2 dilution, NCT without dilution, NCT with 10−1 dilution, and NCT with 10−2 dilution. The results showed that in the in vitro experiments both types of compost tea could suppress the growth of the fungus S. rolfsii. In the in vivo experiment, the treatment of NCT 10−1 dilution and ACT 10−1 dilution were categorized as quite effective in reducing the incidence of damping-off disease with the effectiveness rates of 51.72% and 47.13%, respectively