INVITRO STUDIES ON PRODUCTION OF IAA, PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZATION AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY TRICHODERMA SPECIES

Trichoderma is a potential biocontrol agent that is widely used by farmers worldwide. In this study, we selected four stress-tolerant and chitinase-producing Trichoderma isolates (VT-8, VT-14, VT-15 & VT-17) to analyses their ability to produce plant growth promoters, their phosphate solubilizing ability, and their volatile organic compound availability. We used qualitative and quantitative methods to analyses the invitro production of plant growth promoters. The formation of dark red to pale yellow colour indicated the production of indole acetic acid. Among the four Trichoderma isolates, VT17 exhibited a dark red colour, indicating the highest indole acetic acid production. Quantitative analysis confirmed that VT-17 produced 79.86±0.12 µg/ml of indole acetic acid. All four isolates were analyzed for their phosphate solubilizing ability using qualitative and quantitative methods. The formation of a clear zone indicated the presence of phosphate solubilizing activity. Trichoderma isolate VT-17 showed the highest activity with a clear zone of 1.17 cm and a quantitative analysis result of 9.25 µg/ml. We selected Trichoderma isolate VT-17 for GC-MS analysis based on their antifungal activity studies. The analysis revealed the presence of seven volatile organic compounds that have been reported to exhibit biocontrol activity. Therefore, Trichoderma isolate VT-17 could be used as a biocontrol agent.