Shelf Life of Trichoderma Harzianum an Antagonist in Different Oil Based Formulations

Abstract

Trichoderma is a promising candidate for the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. While planning the application of antagonistic Trichoderma strains for the purposes of biological control, it is very important to consider the environmental parameters affecting the bio-control agents in the soil. A series of abiotic and biotic environmental parameters has an influence on the bio-control efficacy of Trichoderma. The major bottleneck of bio-pesticides is the shelf life and inconsistent performance. In order to overcome this problem, the present study the liquid formulation was used to increase the shelf life of Trichoderma. Oils like Canole oil, paraffin oil, soya bean oil, Neem oil and Glycerol and their combination of paraffin oil and glycerol, paraffin oil and Soya bean oil, Canola oil and Glycerol, and Paraffin oil and Neem oil were used, among which Canola oil + Glycerol based formulation and Paraffin oil based formulation with 3.00 x 104 Cfu/ml and 2.00 X 104 Cfu/ml viable conidia showed extended shelf life of twelve months of storage.