Biological Interaction of Alternaria alternata with Carposphere Mycoflora of Chilli

Based on cultural and morphological characteristics the seven carposphere fungi isolated from chilli fruits revealed close identity to Trichoderma sp., Colletotrichum capsici, Penicillium sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus sp. and Fusarium sp. and were evaluated for their antagonistic activity against Alternaria alternata by dual culture method under in vitro conditions. Among these, Penicillium sp. was found potential antagonist in terms of growth inhibition (85.43%) against Alternaria alternata. The next best was Aspergillus niger with 81.56 per cent growth inhibition which was at par with A. flavus (80.13%) and Rhizopus sp. (78.92%). Colletotrichum capsici (55.49%) and Fusarium sp. (54.99%) exhibited moderate in inhibition of growth.