Abstract:
Groundnut is the third largest oil seed producer in Gujarat. Having the many beneficial effects of Groundnut, it is not much exported to other countries for its loss of production and poor quality due to contamination by various soil-borne pathogens. Fusarium is a soil-borne fungal pathogen generally causing fungal diseases in groundnut plants. Thus, it is necessary to control the pathogenicity of Fusarium species in the Groundnut Plants. A present investigation has been carried out to inhibit the pathogenicity of Fusarium species from the Groundnut plant through a biocontrol agent. Nowadays the use of fertilizers and chemicals has increased due to which several other problems have come into existence. Thus, to overcome this problem, in the current study, we are mainly focusing on biocontrol agents against soil-borne pathogens. The soil sample was collected from different regions of Rajkot, Gujarat where groundnut production is large in amount. For further study followed by serial dilutions up to 10˘9 dilutions and direct inoculation on selective media for fungal isolation that are Dichloran Chloramphenicol Peptone Agar (DCPA) and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) that was supplemented with streptomycin to avoid bacterial contamination, followed by incubation for 5 to 6 days at 28ᴼC. Based on morphological and cultural characteristics, 20 isolates were obtained, out of which 2 fungal isolates were tentatively identified as Fusarium species. Trichoderma species were isolated and identified from the soil sample collected from Rajkot, Gujarat. Antagonistic screening activity was performed against Trichoderma species as it is known as the potent biocontrol agent against various pathogenic fungi. As a result, it was determined that Trichoderma was able to inhibit the growth of Fusarium species. Pathogenicity test was employed to identify the effects of pathogens on the number of leaves, root length, shoot length, and chlorophyll content for the Groundnut Plants. Statistical analysis through the standard deviation SD was carried out to check the potential of biocontrol agent over pathogen on Groundnut Plants. Results conclude that the potential of Trichoderma species as a biocontrol agent to manage several diseases caused by phytopathogenic soil-borne fungal pathogens and hence can serve as a good potent biocontrol source for the agricultural industry.
