In vitro Evaluation of Antagonistic Effect of Bio Control Agents (BCA) against Mango Dieback Incited by Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most important tropical fruit crops, belongs to family anacardiaceae. Mango is infected by number of diseases at all stages of its development, among them dieback caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl. is considered to be the most destructive disease, leading to significant yield loss and low fruit quality of mango due to slowly wilting of tree. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the inhibitory activity of different bio-control agents (BCA) against L. theobromae. Different bioagents viz., Trichoderma viride NAU isolate, T. harzianum, NAU isolate, Pseudomonas fluorescens NAU isolate, Bacillus subtilis NAU isolate and Rhizospheric actinobacteria were tested by dual culture technique. Among them, highest per cent growth inhibition was found in T. viride (71.47%) followed by T. harzianum (67.15%) and rhizospheric actinobacteria (47.84%). P. fluorescens (3.46%) was found least effective against pathogen. The results indicated that among all the BCA, T. viride was most effective against L. theobromae. Hence, it can be explored further for management of mango dieback.