Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF TRICHODERMA SPP. FOR ANTAGONISTIC ACTIVITY AGAINST CORM ROT OF SAFFRON FROM KISHTWAR REGION, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA

Kausar Fatima, V.K. Razdan, Vishal Gupta and Nusrat Fatima

Abstract

Jammu and Kashmir is the only saffron growing state of India; Saffron is an important crop with high commercial value and low production, various biotic and abiotic factors affected the production of saffron. Corm rot of saffron caused by Fusarium oxysporum f sp. Gladioli is one of the major diseases of saffron crop of Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir. In order to increase quality of saffron biocontrol agents are isolated from the soil, Thirty soil sample were collected from ten saffron growing areas of which ten Beneficial microbes were isolated from the saffron crop of the Kishtwar Region and were screened for cell wall degrading enzymes, it was found that of 10 isolates the strain T2 (Trichoderma spp.) show maximum production of chitinase (23.88 ± 1.161), cellulase (32.0 ± 1.155), protease (20.0 ± 1.155), -1,3-glucanase (15.0± 0.289) against the corm rot of saffron caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. Gladioli. Trichoderma spp., the efficacy of Trichoderma isolate Tri-2 was superior to other isolates with regard to inhibiting the growth of the test pathogen. Thus proved that Trichoderma isolate Tri-2 (81.60%) had better biocontrol properties.