Efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum for biological control of white rust disease caused by Albugo ipomoeae-aquaticae in swamp morning glory

Abstract

The objective of this research was to use Trichoderma harzianum for the control of white rust disease of swamp morning glory. The experiment was set as randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments and four replications per treatment at Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agricultural  Technology, Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University during October to December, 2013. Four treatments comprised of 1) seed dressing with T.harzianum 2) soil broadcasting with Trichoderma-compost mix 3) plant
spray with T. harzianum and 4) Trichoderma-untreated control. The results revealed the T. harzianum effectively controlled white rust of swamp morning glory. Only 5% of white rust was found on plant in the
field treated with Trichoderma-compost mix. This disease incidence was significantly lower (P< 0.01) when
compared with the untreated control (16.25%). All Trichoderma treatments increased height and yield of
swamp morning glory. At 35 days after planting, the highest plant growth with 31.9 cm. in height was found
in the Trichoderma spray treatment. The yield fresh weight from Trichoderma treatments were 2.47-2.67 kg/m2 , while 2.37 kg/m 2 of fresh weight was found in the untreated control.