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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/13/1998 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Gliocladium virens (=Trichoderma virens) has been developed as a commercial formulation for the control of damping-off diseases caused by Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia solani, and has been registered by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use in glasshouse and other indoor environments. The product GlioGard, developed cooperatively by the USDA and W. R. Grace & Co., was marketed as an alginate prill formulation by a division of W. R. Grace & Co. A reformulated granulated product has since been marketed as SoilGard. Certain criteria were established before the G. virens product development was initiated: 1) the targeted pathogens (P. ultimum and R. solani) were chosen for their short-term, damping-off disease control activity and their importance in seedling production, 2) indigenous candidate micro-organisms, including various genera of fungi, actinomycetes, and bacteria were chosen for testing, 3) a single biocontrol agent was selected rather than a mixture of agents, 4) a cropping system was used (glasshouse) in which environmental variables such as pH, moisture, and temperature were relatively consistent and the growing medium was relatively uniform, and 5) a specialized market niche was targeted of interest to commercial development. These and other requirements for plant disease control in agriculture will encourage the use of biocontrol strategies based on fungi to solve crop disease losses. |
