Isolation, Evaluation and Characterization of Indigenous Trichoderma spp. for the Management of Wilt of Chickpea Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris

Abstract

Background: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris causing chickpea wilt, a significant soil-borne disease that causes severe crop losses. Trichoderma spp. is a diverse fungal bio-control agent with the ability to limit plant disease growth through a variety of ways. The goal of this work is to assess the efficiency of indigenous Trichoderma spp. isolated from chickpea rhizosphere from different North Eastern districts of Karnataka against the wilt pathogen in vitro, as well as to investigate the cultural and morphological aspects of isolates. Methods: Dual culture approach was used to investigate the antagonistic potential of Trichoderma isolates and inverted plate technique was used to examine the synthesis of volatile compounds from Trichoderma spp. The isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar medium for cultural characterization. Under a microscope, morphological characters were observed. Result: Twenty Trichoderma isolates were reported to be effective against F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, preventing mycelial growth by 48.52 to 91.85%. All the isolates produced significant amount of volatile compounds that inhibited F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris growth by 2.59 to 72.22%. At 72 hours after incubation, the isolates had different radial mycelium growth and formed fluffy and elevated colony growth, with colony margins ranging from smooth to wavy.