SHELF LIFE STUDIES OF DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS OF Trichoderma harzianum

Trichoderma is used as a bio-agent and have been reported to be quite effective, inexpensive and eco- friendly. It can be used as seed treatment, applied direct to the soil before planting and added to organic fertilizers. Trichoderma controls the pathogenic organism by competition, mycoparasitism and antagonism. It excretes enzymes like viridin and gleotoxin thereby enhancing the root growth. Hence, it has got significant importance in ecofriendly disease management programs. The first step while studying the bio-control, is the identification of a promising bio- control agent. Once the bio-control agent is identified and is proven effective against plant pathogens over several reproducible results, the method of mass production, formulation and application should be taken into consideration to stabilize the product during storage and to facilitate its delivery to the plant. The major hurdle in the use of bio-pesticides is their shelf life and inconsistent performance. Therefore, the present study “Shelf life studies of different formulations of Trichoderma harzianum” was undertaken at biological control lab, NIPHM Hyderabad with the objectives: Evaluation of solid and liquid substrates for mass production of T. harzianum and Shelf life studies of different formulations of T. harzianum. From the study it was found that all the prepared formulations retained optimum viability. Capsule and sachet based formulations gave higher shelf life of Trichoderma as compared to wettable formulations. Application of Capsule and sachet based formulations would be more convenient for application, storage and handling to control diseases in field and orchards which in turn would help the farmers to achieve a better crop yield.