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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 12 No. Sp2 (2025): Current Trends in Plant Science and Microbiome for Sustainability

Synthesis and optimization of agro-based solid and liquid formulation for enhanced shelf-life and biomass production of Trichoderma asperellum

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.4641
Submitted
13 August 2024
Published
01-07-2025

Abstract

Beneficial organism-based bio-pesticides have currently gained high prominence in natural and organic farming systems to ingress and suppress pests and diseases in the realm of modern agriculture. Although conventional bio-pesticides have good track records under laboratory conditions, stability and storage issues are pre-dominantly found when tested under field conditions. Therefore, the preparation and in-field evaluation of precisely structured bio-pesticide formulations are immediately required for agricultural improvement. Herein, the liquid broth media and agro-substrates based Trichoderma asperellum suspension culture have been elucidated for the biomass production and shelf-life analysis. Among the 8 different liquid broth medium under the investigation, molasses yeast extract broth was found to have maximum biomass production (20.84 g fresh and 3.14 g dry weight of mycelium; 127.5×106 CFU/mL). In contrast, a shelf-life analysis of T. asperellum revealed Paraffin oil as the best medium (19×106 CFU/mL), where a maximum shelf-life (up to 180 days) was achieved with 39.37 % of viability. On solid substrates, a maximum CFU count of 13.33×106 CFU/g and viability of 15.25 % were observed in shelled maize cob powder. The current findings emphasize the aim of bestowing the different substrates for mass multiplication and viability of T. asperellum as a promising antagonist to menace soil borne pathogens and significantly increase disease resistance in plants.

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