Evaluation of Longevity and Survival of Trichoderma Harzianum Rifai on Different Oil Cakes

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to test the suitability of various oil cakes viz., Neem, Jatropha, Mahua and Karanja for mass multiplication of and longevity of Trichoderma harzianum in vitro. In addition, all these cakes were also tested for supporting the population dynamics and longevity of T. harzianum in rhizospheric soil. Among four cakes, Neem cake was found to be best substrtate for supporting the population dynamics and longevity of T. harzianum in vitro. Neem cake was able to support the longevity of T. harzianum for more than 120 days with a conciderable level of population. It was also found superior when amended with different soureces of carbon, nitrogen and vitamins to support the population dynamics and to enhance the longevity of T. harzianum. Population density get increased with the addition of additional sources of carbon, nitrogen and vitamins. Among the carbon, nitrogen and vitamins; sucrose, calcium nitrate and thiamin respectively were the best sources when amended any of these cakes, while fructose, urea and biotin were inferior for mass multiplication. Application of T. harzianum grown on jatropha cake to the sterilized and unsterilized soil planted with tomato supported the highest population dynamics for longer period than other substrates used. Jatropha cake supported the population dynamics for more than 135 days, while others didn’t. Application of T. harzianum grown on different oil cakes to the sterilized soil without planting supported the population dynamics up to 90 days only, while in unsterilized soil, T. harzianum survived up to 120 days. Application of T. harzianum grown on different cakes, FYM and vermicompost enhanced the plant height, greenness and fruit yield. Application of T. harzianum grown on these cakes to soil was also able to induce the systemic resistance in plants against foliar diseases