Production and Utilization of Trichoderma

Speaker Bio: Rhonda M. Oloan is from Bontoc, Mountain Province.  She is one of the Researchers At Baguio National Crop Research Development and Production Support Center (BNCRDPSC) at the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture, Philippines. She is currently involve in organic agriculture programs on seed production, training and production of biological control agents (mainly involved in the production of Trichoderma).  She finished her Master’s Degree in Agriculture and majored in Plant Pathology at Benguet State University (BSU).  

Abstract: Trichoderma spp. is widely used as biological control for many diseases. It acts a range of economically important aerial and soilborne plant pathogens. They have been used in the field and greenhouse against Fusarium spp, Rhizoctonia spp,  Pythium spp, Sclerotium spp and nematodes attacking  many crops which include potato, cucumber, tomato, legumes, cotton, carrots, strawberry and many more (Yedida et al, 2001; Ranasingh et al, 2006; Harman, 2000, 2005; Sallam et al.,2008).  It can be used also as compost activator for composting weeds and farm manure and used as bioremediator  for degrading inorganic elements or heavy metals in the soil.

In the highlands, application of  Trichoderma spp in the soil two weeks before planting reduced Ralstonia solanacearum population resulting to an increase of 32% on yield of potato. Likewise, root rot disease of strawberry was reduced with the application of Trichoderma two weeks before planting resulted to the increase of yield for about 11-19%. As a result of several verification studies conducted by the Bureau of Plant Indutry, Trichoderma have been promoted and recommended to vegetable growers in the highlands to manage the problem on soilborne diseases affecting vegetable growers. The fungus can be mass produced in rice hull, rice or corn substrate and can be grown for two weeks.  The Bureau of plant Industry have been mass producing this biological control agent  for soilborne disease and are conducting  trainings on mass production of Trichoderma.