ANTAGONISTIC POTENTIAL OF TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM AGAINST FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM F. SP. CUBENSE ASSOCIATED WITH PANAMA WILT OF BANANA

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense is a soil loving pathogen of banana that can cause distortion of vascular system. It is responsible for the disease Fusarium wilt of bananas also renowned as panama wilt disease that has responsible of immense losses in the banana industry worldwide. In this study, diseased samples were collected from rhizosphere of banana plants in the research area of National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad and cultured on PDA to isolate pathogenic strains of F. oxysporium f. sp. cubense. Antagonistic potential of Trichoderma harzianum against F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense was evaluated under controlled conditions. T. harzianum produced up to 75.5% inhibition of colony growth of the pathogen followed by incubation for 72 h at 28+2°C in vitro. In pot culture T. harzianum considerably reduced disease severity. It proves that it is a potential biological control agent against banana wilt pathogen.