Biocontrol potential of Gliocladium virens against fungal pathogens isolated from chickpea, lentil and black gram seeds

Abstract

The pathogenic fungi associated with chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris) and black gram (Vigna mungo) seeds were isolated and were evaluated against Gliocladium virens, a potential biocontrol agent. Biological control of fungal plant pathogens appears as an attractive and realistic approach, and numerous microorganisms have been identified as biocontrol agents. In the present study samples of chickpea, lentil and black gram seeds were collected from local districts of Rajasthan and analyzed for seed-borne fungi. The pathogenic fungi isolated from these seeds were Alternaria alternata, Chaetomium spp., Penicillium citrinum, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Rhizopus nigricans and Fusarium oxysporum. We found that G. virens significantly inhibited the radial growth of the pathogenic fungi tested.