Screening of indigenous potential antagonistic Trichoderma species from tomato rhizospheric soil against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycoperscisi

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate potential inhibitory effect of indigenous bio- control agents against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Lycopersici, (FOL), a causal organism of wilt disease in tomato crops. Twenty indigenous Trichoderma species were isolated from tomato rhizosphere soil collected from tomato growing fields in and around Mysore district, which is geographically located in Southern part of Karnataka, India. Amongst twenty Trichoderma isolates, eight isolates displayed significant activity against the test pathogen. Among the eight isolates two isolates, T. harzianum and T. viride, exhibited excellent inhibitory effects on the test pathogen in dual culture technique. The obtained preliminary results are valuable and promising enough for further studies towards isolation and characterization of antifungal agent responsible for activity.