LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION AND INCREASED SHELF LIFE OF TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM INOCULUMS IN SEMI SOLID MEDIUM

Trichoderma harzianum is a well-known bio control agent that is commercially produced to prevent development of several soil borne plant pathogen. In addition to control of plant diseases, T. harzianum also promotes plant growth. Solid and liquid state fermentation methods are commonly used for mass production of T. harzianum inoculums. Solid fermentation is expensive as it requires substrate for fermentation. Liquid fermentation is also undesirable due to increase of pH, chemical degradation and lower shelf life over the time of storage. Therefore, an alternative semi solid medium has been developed for large scale fermentation of T. harizanum inoculums. The newly developed medium showed more cell count of T. harizanum and less chemical changes (most probably oxidation) over time compared to solid or liquid media. Two to three days after fermentation, the newly developed semi solid medium showed less production of gas compared to other media. Therefore, the newly developed semi solid medium could be used to increase the quality and quantity of T. harizanum inoculums for large scale co mmercial production.