Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Review Articles

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

Role of pH and temperature in modulating the growth of Trichoderma asperellum

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.15500
Submitted
11 May 2026
Published
14-09-2026

Abstract

The genus Trichoderma is asexually and sexually reproducing filamentous fungi that are widely distributed. These Trichoderma species are used extensively in agriculture as biocontrol agents to manage plant diseases. In view of this present study was conducted at College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Imphal during the 2021–22 cropping season. In this study, various levels of pH and temperature were evaluated to investigate variations in mycelial growth among the isolates. The pH and temperature are significant factors influencing fungal growth. The study investigated how pH and temperature interact to influence the radial growth, fresh weight and dry weight of Trichoderma asperellum under in vitro conditions. The radial growth of the isolates improved as the temperature rise from 30–34 °C, within a pH range of 4–8. The highest fresh and dry weights of the mycelium were recorded at pH 4 when the temperature was either 26 °C or 30 °C. Radial growth, fresh weight and dry weight of the isolates peaked at 30 °C. Maximum fresh and dry mycelial weights occurred within the pH range of 4–6. This study demonstrated that the interaction between pH and temperature has a significant impact on the growth of T. asperellum isolates. The optimum pH (4–6) and temperature (30 °C) identified in this study can be used to optimise the mass multiplication and commercial production of T. asperellum. These findings will aid in developing efficient bioformulations with improved quality, consistency and biocontrol efficacy.

References

  1. 1. Anand S, Reddy J. Biocontrol potential of Trichoderma spp. against plant pathogen. Int J Agric Sci. 2009;1:30–5. https://doi.org/10.9735/0975-3710.1.2.30-39
  2. 2. Şesan TE, Oancea AO, Stefan LM, Manoiu VS, Ghiurea M, Raut I. Effects of foliar treatment with a Trichoderma plant biostimulant consortium on Passiflora caerulea L. yield and quality. Microorganisms. 2020;8:123. https://doi:10.3390/microorganisms8010123
  3. 3. Abdelkhalek A, Al-Askar AA, Arishi AA, Behiry SI. Trichoderma hamatum strain Th23 promotes tomato growth and induces systemic resistance against Tobacco mosaic virus. J Fungi. 2022;8:228. https://doi:10.3390/jof8030228
  4. 4. Organo ND, Granada S, Pineda H, Sandro JM, Nguyen VH, Gummert M. Assessing the potential of a Trichoderma-based compost activator to hasten decomposition of rice straw. Sci Rep. 2022;12:448. https://doi:10.1038/s41598-021-03828-1
  5. 5. Rao Y, Zeng L, Jiang H, Mei L, Wang Y. Trichoderma atroviride LZ42 releases volatile organic compounds promoting plant growth and suppressing Fusarium wilt in tomato. BMC Microbiol. 2022;22:88. https://doi:10.1186/s12866-022-02511-3
  6. 6. Dominguez S, Rubio MB, Cardoza RE, Gutierrez S, Nicolas C, Bettiol W. Nitrogen metabolism and growth enhancement in tomato challenged with Trichoderma harzianum expressing amdS gene. Front Microbiol. 2016;7:1182. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.01182
  7. 7. Viriyasuthee W, Jogloy S, Saksirirat W, Saepaisan S, Gleason ML, Chen RS. Biological control of Alternaria leaf spot in Jerusalem artichoke. Plants. 2019;8:463. https://doi:10.3390/plants8110463
  8. 8. Jaiswal AK, Mengiste TD, Myers JR, Egel DS, Hoagland LA. Tomato domestication reduced responsiveness to beneficial soil microbes. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:604566. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.604566
  9. 9. Tseng YH, Rouina H, Groten K, Rajani P, Furch A, Reichelt M. Endophytic Trichoderma promotes growth and defense. Front Plant Sci. 2020;11:573670. https://doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.573670
  10. 10. Nieto-Jacobo MF, Steyaert JM, Salazar-Badillo FB, Nguyen DV, Rostas M, Braithwaite M. Environmental conditions affect metabolites of Trichoderma spp. Front Plant Sci. 2017;8:102. https://doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00102
  11. 11. Fiorentino N, Ventorino V, Woo SL, Pepe O, De Rosa A, Gioia L. Trichoderma-based biostimulants improve nutrient uptake and yield. Front Plant Sci. 2018;9:743. https://doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.00743
  12. 12. Lopez AC, Alvarenga AE, Zapata PD, Luna MF, Villalba LL. Trichoderma spp. promote growth of Ilex paraguariensis. Mycology. 2019;10:210–21. https://doi:10.1080/21501203.2019.1606860
  13. 13. Nawrocka J, Małolepsza U, Szymczak K, Szczech M. Defense mechanisms in cucumber activated by Trichoderma atroviride. Protoplasma. 2018;255:359–73. https://doi:10.1007/s00709-017-1157-1
  14. 14. Poveda J, Hermosa R, Monte E, Nicolas C. Trichoderma harzianum enhances mycorrhizal colonization. Sci Rep. 2019;9:11650. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48269-z
  15. 15. Cabral-Miramontes JP, Olmedo-Monfil V, Lara-Banda M, Zuniga-Romo ER, Arechiga-Carvajal ET. Growth promotion in arid zones by Trichoderma. Biology. 2022;11:1206. https://doi:10.3390/biology11081206
  16. 16. Goldman GH, Hayes C, Harman GE. Molecular biology of biocontrol by Trichoderma. Trends Biotechnol. 1994;12:478–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-7799(94)90055-8
  17. 17. Chet I, Inbar J. Biological control of fungal pathogens. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 1994;48:37–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02825358
  18. 18. Mehta J, Khandelwal M, Datta S, Naruka R, Makhijani K, Sharma G, et al. Isolation and biomass production of Trichoderma viride. Adv Appl Sci Res. 2012;3(6):3950–5.
  19. 19. Karuppiah V, Sun J, Li T, Vallikkannu M, Chen J. Co-cultivation improves wheat growth and biocontrol. Front Microbiol. 2019;10:1068. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.01068
  20. 20. Kakabouki I, Tataridas A, Mavroeidis A, Kousta A, Karydogianni S, Zisi C. Effect of Trichoderma harzianum on hemp growth. Microorganisms. 2021;9:518. https://doi:10.3390/microorganisms9030518
  21. 21. Marra R, Lombardi N, Piccolo A, Bazghaleh N, Prashar P, Vandenberg A. Biofortification of lentil by Trichoderma. Microorganisms. 2021;10:87. https://doi:10.3390/microorganisms10010087
  22. 22. Karuppiah V, Vallikkannu M, Li T, Chen J. Co-fermentation enhances biocontrol activity. Microb Cell Fact. 2019;18:185. https://doi:10.1186/s12934-019-1233-7
  23. 23. Wang H, Zhang R, Duan Y, Jiang W, Chen X, Shen X. Trichoderma asperellum as biocontrol agent. J Fungi. 2021;7:1050. https://doi:10.3390/jof7121050
  24. 24. Degani O, Rabinovitz O, Becher P, Gordani A, Chen A. Trichoderma confers protection against wilt disease. J Fungi. 2021;7:444. https://doi:10.3390/jof7060444
  25. 25. Agbessenou A, Akutse KS, Yusuf AA, Khamis FM. Endophytic Trichoderma induces plant defense volatiles. Front Plant Sci. 2022;13:860309. https://doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.860309
  26. 26. Rubio MB, Quijada NM, Perez E, Dominguez S, Monte E, Hermosa R. Beneficial qualities of Trichoderma parareesei. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2014;80:1864–73. https://doi:10.1128/AEM.03375-13
  27. 27. Zhang F, Huo Y, Cobb AB, Luo G, Zhou J, Yang G. Trichoderma biofertilizer improves soil and biomass. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:848. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.00848
  28. 28. Phoka N, Suwannarach N, Lumyong S, Ito SI, Matsui K, Arikit S. Role of volatiles from Trichoderma asperelloides. J Fungi. 2020;6:341. https://doi:10.3390/jof6040341
  29. 29. Santos M, Santos L, Costa D, Vieira TA, Lustosa DC. Trichoderma seed treatment effects. Heliyon. 2020;6:e04044. https://doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04044
  30. 30. Wang H, Zhang R, Mao Y, Jiang W, Chen X, Shen X. Effects of Trichoderma on apple growth. J Fungi. 2022;8:63. https://doi:10.3390/jof8010063
  31. 31. Mulatu A, Alemu T, Megersa N, Vetukuri RR. Optimization of biofungicide production. Microorganisms. 2021;9:1675. https://doi:10.3390/microorganisms9081675
  32. 32. Yao X, Guo H, Zhang K, Zhao M, Ruan J, Chen J. Role of Trichoderma in disease control. Front Microbiol. 2023;14:1160551. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1160551
  33. 33. Niu B, Wang W, Yuan Z, Sederoff RR, Sederoff H, Chiang VL. Microbial interactions in biocontrol. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:585404. https://doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.585404
  34. 34. Griffin DH. Fungal physiology. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1994.
  35. 35. Peñalva MA, Arst HN Jr. Regulation of gene expression by ambient pH in filamentous fungi and yeasts. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2002;66(3):426–46. https://doi:10.1128/MMBR.66.3.426-446.2002
  36. 36. Benítez T, Rincón AM, Limón MC, Codón AC. Biocontrol mechanisms of Trichoderma strains. Int Microbiol. 2004;7(4):249–60.
  37. 37. Harman GE, Howell CR, Viterbo A, Chet I, Lorito M. Trichoderma species—opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2004;2(1):43–56. https://doi:10.1038/nrmicro797
  38. 38. Kubicek CP, Herrera-Estrella A, Seidl-Seiboth V, Martinez DA, Druzhinina IS, Thon M, et al. Comparative genome sequence analysis underscores mycoparasitism as the ancestral lifestyle of Trichoderma. Genome Biol. 2011;12(4):R40. https://doi:10.1186/gb-2011-12-4-r40
  39. 39. Woo SL, Ruocco M, Vinale F, Nigro M, Marra R, Lombardi N, et al. Trichoderma-based products and their widespread use in agriculture. Open Mycol J. 2014;8:71–126. https://doi:10.2174/1874437001408010071
  40. 40. Bhattiprolu SL. Growth of Trichoderma viride under different factors. Indian J Plant Prot. 2008;36(2):279–82.
  41. 41. Jayaswal RK, Singh R, Lee YS. Environmental factors affecting Trichoderma viride. Mycobiology. 2003;31(1):36–41. https://doi.org/10.4489/MYCO.2003.31.1.036
  42. 42. Aanouluwa EE, Kehinde A, Esther BB, Juliet AB, Clement AF. Optimization of culture conditions of Trichoderma viride. J Microbiol. 2015;11:240–5.
  43. 43. Ali HZ, Aboud HM, Dheyab NS, Musa NK, Gasam FH. Effects of pH on Trichoderma growth. Int J Phytopathol. 2015;4:15–20. https://doi.org/10.33687/phytopath.004.01.0966
  44. 44. Singh A, Shahid M, Srivastava M, Pandey S, Sharma A, Kumar V. Optimal parameters for Trichoderma growth. Virol Mycol. 2014;3:127.
  45. 45. Zehra A, Dubey MK, Meena M, Upadhyay RS. Environmental effects on Trichoderma. J Environ Biol. 2017;38:197–203. https://doi.org/10.22438/jeb/38/2/MS-251
  46. 46. Ajam MMR, Devi S, Sinha B, Singh LN, Singh NG, Singh KI, et al. Growth of Trichoderma asperellum under different conditions. Pharma Innov J. 2023;12(9):21–33. https://doi:10.22271/tpi.2023.v12.i9a.22882
  47. 47. Prakash CT, Biswas SK, Shivam K, Ravi K, Dilip KC, Vishal S, et al. Bioprospecting Trichoderma spp. from diverse ecological niches for antifungal activity against soilborne pathogens. Plant Sci Today. 2026;13(sp2):1–6. https://doi:10.14719/pst.13152

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.