Bio-Control efficacy of Trichoderma spp. against the major diseases of rice (Oryzae sativa L.)

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most widely cultivated food crop and is being cultivated in 114 countries over the world. The majority of the rice (90%) is being produced in Asia with China and India being the major producers. In nature, plants are simultaneously exposed to a combination of biotic and abiotic stresses that limit crop yields. Rice blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae is one of the major rice diseases that hamper rice production globally. The extent of damage caused by P. oryzae in rice production resulting losses of 10–30% of the global yield. Rice sheath blight, caused by the soil-borne fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani, is an economically important disease in rice. Depending upon the severity of the disease, it may cause 25–100% yield losses. Chemical control of disease leads to increase environmental toxicity hence the biological control is one of the best method to manage rice diseases. Trichoderma is a very effective biological mean for plant disease management. It is a free living fungus which is common in soil and root ecosystems. It is highly interactive in root, soil and foliar environments. It reduces growth, survival or infections caused by pathogens by different mechanisms like competition, antibiosis, mycoparasitism, hyphal interactions, and enzyme secretion. Trichoderma have been found effective in controlling rice blast and sheath blight of rice. Hence, in this work we have attempted to in vitro management of rice blastand sheath blight by potential Trichoderma isolates, and found different per cent growth inhibition.

Three isolates of Trichoderma were found effective to inhibit the growth of Rhizoctonia solani in vitro.