Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Growth dynamics of Trichoderma asperellum: Interactive effects of temperature and sugar concentration

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13752
Submitted
20 January 2026
Published
20-07-2026

Abstract

Trichoderma species are ubiquitous soil-dwelling fungi that are often linked to decomposing plant waste. Their potential as effective biocontrol agents in sustainable agriculture are widely recognised. The development of these fungi is strongly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and the availability of nutrients. In this study 4 native isolates of Trichoderma asperellum were collected from the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal during season 2021–22. These isolates were evaluated in vitro to ascertain the impact of temperature and sugar concentration on mycelial growth. While pure cultures were maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA), growth characteristics such as radial growth, fresh weight and dry weight of the mycelium were measured. The
findings demonstrated that radial growth gradually increased as temperatures rose from 30 to 34 °C and sugar concentrations ranged from 15 to 30 g L-1, with 30 °C showing the best radial growth. In media supplemented with sugar concentrations ranging from 10 to 25 g L-1, the maximum fresh and dry mycelial weights were measured at 26 °C and 30 °C respectively. Sugar concentration alone showed no significant effect on mycelial biomass, but when combined with temperature, it significantly altered the growth response. Overall, the study demonstrates that sugar concentration and temperature, both separately and in combination, are critical in controlling the growth dynamics of T. asperellum isolates, offering important information for maximising their mass multiplication and field application as a biocontrol agent.

References

  1. 1. Persoon CH. Synopsis methodica fungorum. Römer's Neues Magazin für die Botanik. 1794;1:81–128.
  2. 2. Elad Y. Biological control of foliar pathogens by means of Trichoderma harzianum and potential modes of action. Crop Prot. 2000;19:709–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-2194(00)00094-6
  3. 3. Gams W, Bissett J. Morphology and identification of Trichoderma. In: Harman GE, Kubicek CP, editors. Trichoderma and Gliocladium. Vol. 1. London: Taylor & Francis; 1998. p. 3–34.
  4. 4. Bissett J. A revision of the genus Trichoderma, section Longibrachiatum. Can J Bot. 1984;62:924–31. https://doi.org/10.1139/b84-131
  5. 5. Wardle DA, Parkinson D, Waller JE. Interspecific competitive interactions between pairs of fungal species in natural substrates. Ecology. 1993;74:165–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00341313
  6. 6. Druzhinina IS, Kopchinskiy AG, Kubicek CP. The first 100 Trichoderma species characterized by molecular data. Mycoscience. 2006;47(2):55–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10267-006-0279-7
  7. 7. Harman GE. Overview of mechanisms and uses of Trichoderma spp. Phytopathology. 2006;96(2):190–4. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-96-0190
  8. 8. Benítez T, Rincón AM, Limón MC, Codón AC. Biocontrol mechanisms of Trichoderma strains. Int Microbiol. 2004;7(4):249–60.
  9. 9. Abu-Taleb M, El-Deeb KK, Al-Otibi FO. Assessment of antifungal activity of Rumex vesicarius L. and Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. extracts against two phytopathogenic fungi. Afr J Microbiol Res. 2011;5(9):1001–11. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJMR10.826
  10. 10. Tripathi P, Singh PC, Mishra A, Chauhan PS, Dwivedi S, Bais RT. Trichoderma: A potential bioremediator for environmental cleanup. Clean Technol Environ Policy. 2013;15:541–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-012-0553-7
  11. 11. López Errasquín E, Vázquez C. Tolerance and uptake of heavy metals by Trichoderma atroviride isolated from contaminated soil. Chemosphere. 2003;50(1):137–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00485-X
  12. 12. Hasan S. Bioremediation: A review. J Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2016;3(9):776–9.
  13. 13. Harman GE, Howell CR, Viterbo A, Chet I, Lorito M. Trichoderma species-opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2004;2:43–56. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro797
  14. 14. Kour M, Kaur L. Trichoderma as a bio-control agent: A review. Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 2022;11(6):103–8. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2022.1106.012
  15. 15. Shanmugaraj C, Kamil D, Kundu A, Singh PK, Das A, Hussain Z, et al. Exploring the potential biocontrol isolates of Trichoderma asperellum for management of collar rot disease in tomato. Horticulturae. 2023;9:1116. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9101116
  16. 16. Haouhach S, Karkachi N, Oguiba B, Sidaoui A, Chamorro I, Kihal M. Three new reports of Trichoderma in Algeria: T. atrobrunneum, T. longibrachiatum and T. afroharzianum. Microorganisms. 2020;8:1455. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8101455
  17. 17. Zheng H, Qiao M, Lv Y, Du X, Zhang KQ, Yu Z. New species of Trichoderma isolated as endophytes and saprobes from Southwest China. J Fungi. 2021;7:467. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof7060467
  18. 18. Wang R, Liu C, Jiang X, Tan Z, Li H, Xu S. The newly identified Trichoderma harzianum partitivirus does not diminish spore production and biocontrol activity of its host. Viruses. 2022;14:1532. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071532
  19. 19. Yao X, Guo H, Zhang K, Zhao M, Ruan J, Chen J. Trichoderma and its role in biological control of plant fungal and nematode diseases. Front Microbiol. 2023;14:1160551. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1160551
  20. 20. Goldman GH, Hayes C, Harman GE. Molecular and cellular biology of biocontrol by Trichoderma spp. Trends Biotechnol. 1994;12:478–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-7799(94)90055-8
  21. 21. Chet I, Inbar J. Biological control of fungal pathogens. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 1994;48:37–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02825358
  22. 22. Mehta J, Khandelwal M, Datta S, Naruka R, Makhijani K, Sharma G, et al. Isolation, characterization and biomass production of Trichoderma viride using various agro-products. Adv Appl Sci Res. 2012;3(6):3950–5.
  23. 23. Gangta V, Dohroo NP, Gupta M. Response of Trichoderma to different temperature, pH, PEG levels and Pythium isolates. Plant Dis Res. 2009;24(2):196–8.
  24. 24. Islam MA, Mostafa MG, Rahman MR. Growth of Trichoderma spp. under different levels of glucose and pH. Bangladesh J Environ Sci. 2012;22:82–5.
  25. 25. Singh A, Shahid M, Srivastava M, Pandey S, Sharma A, Kumar V. Optimal physical parameters for growth of Trichoderma species. J Plant Pathol Microbiol. 2014;5(7):1–6.
  26. 26. Zehra A, Dubey M, Meena M, Upadhyay RS. Effect of different environmental conditions on growth and sporulation of some Trichoderma species. J Environ Biol. 2017;38(2):197–203. https://doi.org/10.22438/jeb/38/2/MS-251
  27. 27. Elad Y, Chet I, Katan J. Trichoderma harzianum: A biocontrol agent effective against Sclerotium rolfsii and Rhizoctonia solani. Phytopathology. 1980;70:119–21. https://doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-70-119

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.