Compatibility of nematophagous fungi Arthrobotrys conoides and Duddingtonia flagrans with various pesticides

Nematophagous fungi are one among the premising candidates to be used as biocontrol agent for root-knot nematodes. For effectively integrated into field application, any microorganism need to assess their compatibility with a variety of pesticides which are currently extensively utilized in agriculture to protect crop plants from infectious plant diseases. In the present study effect of different fungicides, herbicides and insecticides was evaluated on two nematode trapping fungi, Arthrobotrys conoides (JX979095) and Duddingtonia flagrans (JX979094). The results indicate that both the fungal isolates are not compatible with figicides studied as in the presence of fungicides fungi didn't showed very poor growth. However isolates are resistant to herbicides and insecticides that were used in this work. Results of our study ends up in conclusion that herbicides and insecticides have not much adverse effect on growth of A. conoides and D. flagrans however fungicides if employ along with these two fungi might interfere with their performance in the field.