PJB-2023-95
Epidemiology of Green mould disease of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) from North Western Himalayas and interaction studies of Agaricus bisporus and Trichoderma harzianum
Suhail Altaf
Abstract
Green mould (Trichoderma harzianum) is a destructive disease in the crop production of mushrooms. Significant crop losses have been reported in India. It is also a natural contaminant which occurs in mushroom houses in Kashmir. The goal of the current study was to verify the source of pathogen and spread of pathogen through different casing materials and compost. The original source of inoculum was discovered in contaminated casing before it arrived at the farm, or during storage and mixing on the farm. At various stages of composting, the pathogen was combined with the compost. At each step, 100 grams of composting mixture were combined with 10 ml of Trichoderma harzianum spore suspension (1 ×104/ml) from a 5 day old culture made in sterilized distilled water. When admixed with compost on the 22nd, 25th, and 29th day of composting i.e., sixth, seventh, or eighth turnings, the pathogen was successfully re-isolated. Garden soil, peat, virgin soil, farm yard manure (FYM), spent compost and sand were used to create composite samples of various casing materials. Only the Peat soil, spent compost and garden soil carried the green mould pathogen in populations that varied from year to year. The pathogen population was highest in peat soil. A spore suspension of the test pathogen with a spore load of (1 ×104/ml) made from a 5 day old culture in distilled sterilized water was admixed with sterile casing material composed of soil and peat in a 2:1 ratio. The inoculated casing mixture was placed in perforated plastic jars and allowed to dry out in the open air. The population peaked in April 2017, the first month of sampling, and then gradually declined as the season progressed, reaching a low point in January 2018. Soon after the spring and autumn cropping seasons of 2017, 500 g of composite spent compost samples were collected in triplicate from the production trays that showed evidence of green mold illness and placed separately in plastic jars. In comparison to samples from spent compost of healthy trays, where no pathogen was discovered, pathogen was consistently present in samples from spent compost of diseased trays. Minimum inhibition of A. bisporus was observed at 25±1oC whereas maximum inhibition was recorded at 35±1oC. Maximum growth in case of A. bisporus was recorded at pH 7.0 and a decrease in radial growth was observed when there was a deviation in the optimum pH (7.0).
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