Evaluation of Antagonastic Activity and Shelf Life Study of Trichoderma viride (01PP-8315/11)

Trichoderma is a promising candidate for the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. While planning the application of antagonistic Trichoderma strains for the purposes of biological control, it is very important to consider the environmental parameters affecting the biocontrol agents in the soil. A series of abiotic and biotic environmental parameters has an influence on the biocontrol efficacy of Trichoderma. The major bottleneck of biopesticides is the shelf life and inconsistent performance. In order to overcome this problem, the present study the liquid formulation was used to increase the shelf life of Trichoderma. Oils like paraffin oil, soybean oil, combination of paraffin oil and glycerol, soybean oil and glycerol were used, among which paraffin oil showed higher activity.