AUTHOR=Pradhan Prakash Chandra , Mukhopadhyay Arkadeb , Kumar Randeep , Kundu Aditi , Patanjali Neeraj , Dutta Anirban , Kamil Deeba , Bag Tusar Kanti , Aggarwal Rashmi , Bharadwaj Chellapilla , Singh P. K. , Singh Anupama 

TITLE=Performance appraisal of Trichoderma viride based novel tablet and powder formulations for management of Fusarium wilt disease in chickpea

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.990392

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.990392

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>In developing a <italic>Trichoderma viride-</italic>based biocontrol program for <italic>Fusarium</italic> wilt disease in chickpea, the choice of the quality formulation is imperative. In the present study, two types of formulations <italic>i.e.</italic> powder for seed treatment (TvP) and tablet for direct application (TvT), employing <italic>T. viride</italic> as the biocontrol agent, were evaluated for their ability to control chickpea wilt under field conditions at three dosages <italic>i.e.</italic> recommended (RD), double of recommended (DD) and half of recommended (1/2 RD). A screening study for the antagonistic fungi strains based on volatile and non-volatile bioassays revealed that <italic>T. viride</italic> ITCC 7764 has the most potential among the five strains tested (ITCC 6889, ITCC 7204, ITCC 7764, ITCC 7847, ITCC 8276), which was then used to develop the TvP and TvT formulations. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of <italic>T. viride</italic> strain confirmed the highest abundance of compositions comprising octan-3-one (13.92%), 3-octanol (10.57%), and 1-octen-3-ol (9.40%) in the most potential <italic>T. viride</italic> 7764. Further Physico-chemical characterization by standard Collaborative International Pesticides Analytical Council (CIPAC) methods revealed the optimized TvP formulation to be free flowing at pH 6.50, with a density of 0.732 g cm<sup>-3</sup>. The TvT formulation showed a pH value of 7.16 and density of 0.0017 g cm<sup>-3</sup> for a complete disintegration time of 22.5 min. The biocontrol potential of TvP formulation was found to be superior to that of TvT formulation in terms of both seed germination and wilt incidence in chickpea under field conditions. However, both the developed formulations (TvP and TvT) expressed greater bioefficacy compared to the synthetic fungicide (Carbendazim 50% WP) and the conventional talc-based formulation. Further research should be carried out on the compatibility of the developed products with other agrochemicals of synthetic or natural origin to develop an integrated disease management (IDM) schedule in chickpea.</p>