Abstract

Antagonistic potentials of five Trichoderma species that is Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma pseudokoningii and Trichoderma virens were tested against fruit rots pathogens of sapodilla (Manilkara zapota L.) under laboratoryconditions. Dual culture experiment of tested pathogens and Trichoderma spp revealed that, the percent inhibition of T. koningii (57.70%) and T. harzianum (54.40%) proved to be more than 50% antagonistic over control in case of A. niger. Similarly, in case of R. solani, T. koningii(67.07%) showed eloquent antagonistic activity as compared to others. In G. candidum, T. pseudokoiningii (75.07%) and T. viride (74.40%) have highly inhibited the radial growth over control followed by others. In case of R. solani, only T. koningii overgrew beyond 60% (R₃ scale). The results of this study identify T. koningii and T. pseudokoningii as promising biological control agents for further testing against post harvest disease in fruits.

Key words: Manilkara zapota, dual culture, fruit rot pathogens, Aspergillus niger, Rhizoctonia solani, Geotrichum candidum, Trichoderma viride, T. harzianum, T. koningii, T. pseudokoningii, T. virens.