Screening of Agaricus bisporus strains against green mould (Trichoderma harzianum) disease of white button mushroom

Green mould (Trichoderma harzianum) is a fungal pathogen which poses a significant threat to mushroom cultivation. Seven Agaricus bisporus strains viz., RRL-89, S-737, U-3, S-11, S-176, NCS-102 and RRL-80 were evaluated against green mould disease. RRL-80 strain recorded comparatively lesser disease intensity (56.67%) and the strain U3-6 the maximum intensity (71.95%). The yield of mushroom per quintal compost was highly influenced by the disease in all the test strains. The yield was maximum (5.47 kg q-1 compost) in strain RRL-80 compared to all other test strains which yielded 2.12-4.85 kg q-1 compost. The highest numbers of fruit bodies per kg mushroom were present in RRL-80 (79.67/kg mushroom) and largest weight of single fruit body was present in S-11(21.83g).