Evaluation of native isolates of Trichoderma spp. for sustainable management of Fusarium wilt of chickpea

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most essential pulse crop. Among all biotic and abiotic stresses, chickpea wilt incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris is one of the most destructive seed and soilborne disease that appear yearly and cause heavy yield losses. Management of chickpea wilt using Trichoderma spp. will be of great importance as it is eco-friendly and economical. Hence, the present study was carried out to decipher the biocontrol potential of a native isolates of Trichoderma spp. for sustainable management of Fusarium wilt of chickpea. Our quest ascertained that among all thirteen native Trichoderma isolates, which were isolated from chickpea fields from different districts of Haryana, isolate HST-1 (Trichoderma asperellum) exhibited maximum mycelial growth inhibition up to 88.1 per cent. In vivo, results showed that seed treatment with T. asperellum (HST-1) (liquid formulations @ 5 ml kg ) -1 recorded the lowest disease incidence of 17.26 per cent with minimum pre and post-emergence seedling mortality and maximum plant growth matrices viz., plant height, root length, fresh weight, dry weight, pre and post-emergence seedling mortality and germination percentage as compared to control. The present study demonstrated that applying the native isolate of T. asperellum (HST-1) liquid formulation was adequate for the sustainable management of the Fusarium wilt of chickpea. The study also suggested that liquid formulations were more effective than wettable powder formulations of Trichoderma spp. . KEYWORDS :Cicer arietinum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, liquid formulations, Trichoderma asperellum, wettable powder