Fungi responsible for the formation of agarwood in Gyrinops and their preservation techniques

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Abstract Gyrinops sp. is one of the species in the genus Thymelaeaceae which is capable of producing good quality aloe (agarwood) and has very high economic value. This species is dominant in NTB and in Eastern Indonesia. However, most of the high-quality agarwood traded on the world market today is a product obtained from old trees that grow naturally in forests. Over-exploitation of species from natural habitats causes a significant decrease in the number of plant populations of species that can produce agarwood. Various attempts have been made to cultivate this agarwood-producing plant and microbial inoculations have been carried out to form agarwood on the trees. This study aims to collect fungi that infect Gyrinops sp. and are associated with agarwood formation from naturally infected Gyrinops sp. planted by farmers on their land. The results showed that fungal isolates associated with agarwood formation on Gyrinops were Fusarium sp. and Trichoderma sp. The fungus Trichoderma sp. may play a role in helping Gyrinops plants resist Fusarium sp. attack by forming sapwood (agarwood). The fungal storage in sterile soil media and Gyrinops sawdust media tends to be more stable in maintaining the viability of the stored fungi.