Trichoderma: Systematics, Molecular Taxonomy and Agricultural and Industrial Applications

• Published in: Microbial Biotechnology in Agriculture and Aquaculture, Vol. 1 pp. 345 - 386
• Main Author: Ray, R. C
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2005; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: CBH II; Soil Microbial Biomass Nitrogen; Trichoderma Isolates; Trichoderma Hyphae; Biocontrol Agents; Biocontrol Strains; Solid State Fermentation; Plant Growthpromoting Rhizobacteria; Root Rot; BCAs; Trichoderma Anamorphs; Biological Control; Rice Sheath Blight Pathogen; Rhizoctonia Solani; Carbon Catabolite Repression; Harzianum Isolates; Trichoderma Species; Cellulase Production; AFLP Analysis; Botrytis Cinerea; Pathogen Cell Wall; Insoluble Cellulosic Substrates
• ISBN: 1578083672; 9781578083671
• DOI: 10.1201/9781482280302-15

Trichoderma Pers. Ex Fr. is a well-known biological control agent used in plant disease management. Besides its role in biological control, this fungus is useful in fabric detergent, animal feed and fuel production, effluent treat­ ment, degradation of organic pesticides, and as an alternative to conven­ tional bleaching. With the advent of high-yielding varieties in agriculture, the occurrence of new plant diseases and high level of disease incidences came in and that forced the farmers to go for chemical control of plant dis­ eases. The use of chemicals in plant protection not only caused the resis­ tance in the pathogens but has also become a concern for the environmental safety. Today, the residual toxicity of chemical pesticides is traceable in all kinds of foodstuff, including drinking water and breast milk fed to infants. To combat this problem, the biological controls of plant diseases have been tried in many laboratories in the world. One of the major fungal biocontrol agents is Trichoderma. Trichoderma spp. are fungi that are present in nearly all types of soils and other diverse habitats (Ray and Misra, 1995). In soil, they frequently are the most prevalent cultivable fungi. Besides their use as biocontrol agents, they are also used as plant growth-promoting fungi. Trichoderma spp. are the source for many of the genes used for the production of transgenic plants.