Asian Journal of Research in Botany

The management of Musicillium theobromae causal organism of Musa Cigar End rot, Peduncle rot and Crown rot diseases in plantain (Musa spp.) was investigated in vitro. Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride and a systemic fungicide Mancozeb (positive control) were tested for their inhibitory activities on the mycelial growth of M. theobromae using dual culture method and poisoned food technique, respectively. The bio-agents were applied using four inoculation techniques: simultaneous (SIM), preventive (PRV), curative (CUR) and control (CTR).  The result showed that irrespective of the inoculation method, the bio-agents performed better and were significantly different (P≤0.05) from mancozeb after 8 and 12 days. The percentage inhibition ranged from 89.56 to 100 percent in T. harzianum and 87.74 to 100 percent in T. viride. Specifically, preventive application in both bio-agents completely inhibited the mycelia growth of M. theobromae after 12 days of inoculation. The biocontrol agents Trichoderma viride and T. harzianum showed potential inhibitory effect on the mycelia growth of Musicillium theobromae. Hence, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial potentials of these endophytes against M. theobromae under screen-house and field conditions