Biological Control of Charcoal Rot of Mungbean by Trichoderma harzianum and Shoot Dry Biomass of Sisymbrium irio

ABSTRACT: A pot experiment was carried out for the biological control of charcoal rot on mung bean (Vigna radiata), caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. Pot soil was made sick with an inoculum of M. phaseolina. Dried powdered leaves of Sisymbrium irio, a weed from the Brassicaceae family, were mixed in soil at 1, 2 and 3% (w/w) with and without the application of Trichoderma harzianm, a fungal biological control agent. The highest grain yield (3.62 g pot-1) was recorded in a combined application of T. harzianum and 1% S. irio leaf amendment, which was 62% and 805% higher than negative and positive control treatments, respectively. The application of S. irio leaf amendment and T. harzianum generally enhanced leaf protein, sugar and chlorophyll contents, and catalase activity. This study concludes that T. harzianum in combination with 1% dry leaves of S. irio as a soil amendment can be used to achieve the best grain yield under biotic stress of M. phaseolina.