Evaluation of substrates for growth of nematophagous fungus, Arthrobotrys oligospora Kaur Sukhjeet, Kaul V.K.* Department of Plant Pathology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004. *E-mail: <kaulvk@rediffmail.com>
Abstract The growth in terms of radial diameter and vertical spawn run and sporulation density of Arthrobotrys oligospora, a nematophagous fungus frequently encountered from mushroom beds was evaluated in Petri dishes or cylindrical bottles on various culture substrates viz. potato dextrose agar, maize meal agar, compost extract agar, horse manure agar, cow-dung leachate agar, water agar 1.5%, boiled bajra grains + 3% CaCO3, boiled wheat grains + CaCO,, boiled sorghum grains + 3% CaCO3, wheat bran, Farm yard manure, F.Y.M. + burnt paddy husk and sugarcane trash. Radial growth of A. oligospora was faster and profuse on F.Y.M. + burnt paddy husk, followed by F.Y.M. alone, maize mean agar, Bajra grains + 3% CaCO-,, potato dextrose agar, wheat grains + 3% CaCO3 whereas on water agar and horse manure agar, growth was comparatively slow. All substrates had shown non-significant differences. Maximum sporulation was recorded on maize meal agar and F.Y.M. + burnt paddy husk. Top Key words Arthrobotrys oligospora, Culture substrates, Vertical spawn run. Top |