Encapsulation of Trichoderma harzianum with sodium alginate and evaluation of efficacy against fungal plant pathogen

Abstract

Plant pathogenic fungi pose signifcant agricultural challenges, potentially as the cause of crop damage and reduced yields. This study evaluated the effectiveness of bioproducts formulated by encapsulating Trichoderma harzianum spores with sodium alginate for controlling 3 plant pathogenic fungi: Fusarium sp., Curvularia sp., and Alternaria sp. The assessment employed the dual culture methods on a potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The research revealed that this bioproduct’s wet and dry forms, stored at different temperatures (4 °C and 28±2 °C), could maintain their spherical, uniform, and green appearances. Spore counts and spore survival for wet and dry forms stored at 4 °C were 2.53×106, 1.01×106 and 1.31×106, 1.10×105 spores/ ml, respectively. Spore counts and spore survival for those stored at 28±2 °C were 3.18×106, 1.11×106 and 1.29×106, 1.00×105 spores/ml, respectively. Regarding the control of pathogenic fungi growth, both wet and dry forms stored at 4 °C exhibited inhibition percentages ranging from 64.10% to 82.35% and 64.74% to 81.25%, respectively. Similarly, those stored at 28±2 °C were shown to have inhibition percentages ranging from 65.38% to 84.31% and 66.66% to 86.27%, respectively. Statistically signifcant differences (p<0.05) were observed in the inhibition rates of all 3 pathogenic fungi between the two forms of bioproducts stored at different temperatures.