ANTAGONISTIC EFFECT OF TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM ON POST HARVEST PATHOGENS OF RAMBUTANS

Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), stem-end rot (Botryodiplodia theobromae) and brown spot (Gliocephalotrichum microchlamydosporum) are major postharvest diseases of rambutans in Sri Lanka (Sivakumar et al., 1997). These pathogens are known to survive in leaf litter while the three diseases can be controlled by fungicide application (Abeyesekere et al., 1997). These investigations are aimed at developing a non-chemical method of control. The soil-borne fungus T. harzianum has previously been reported to be an effective biocontrol agent (Benhamou et al., 1996). Therefore, the antagonistic effect of this organism, isolated from rambutan orchards, was tested with respect to the three rambutan pathogens.