Abstract

                                Ten Trichoderma isolates named as Trichoderma isolate1 to Trichoderma isolate 10, were isolated from different soil samples collected from virgin, Jhum, cultivated, and fallow land of Medziphema block of Nagaland state by serial dilution agar plate method on Trichoderma selective medium (TSM). All the Trichoderma isolates were tested against Fusarium solani and Sclerotium rolfsii by dual culture method. All the isolates were highly effective against both the pathogens with 83-93 percent and 72-89 per cent growth inhibition of Fusarium solani and Sclerotium rolfsii, respectively. Among the tested Trichoderma isolates, Trichoderma isolate1 was observed most effective; therefore, it was mass multiplied in Potato Dextrose Broth and formulated in talc powder. The colony forming units were counted thrice to determine the number of viable conidia in product; the first counting was done on the same day of formulation, the second counting was done one month, and the last was done six months after formulation. It was observed that the colony forming units decreased from 13 × 106 c.f.u. to 5.66 × 106 c.f.u. after six months of storage from the initial formulation which indicates that even after six months of storage, the Trichoderma isolate 1 formulated by using talc powder still contained good number of viable conidia. Thus, from the overall results obtained from the present work, it can be concluded that Trichoderma spp. as a ubiquitous fungus and an effective biological control agent can be one of the paramount components of integrated disease management.

Key words : Trichoderma; Jhum; Mass Multiplication, Talc Formulation; Nagaland