Karet memiliki peran sangat penting bagi perekonomian Indonesia. Beberapa kendala rendahnya produktivitas karet di Indonesia adalah kurangnya penerapan teknologi budidaya karet, gangguan cuaca, iklim dan hama penyakit. Penyakit jamur akar putih  yang disebabkan patogen Rigidoporus microporus merupakan penyakit penting pada tanaman karet. Salah satu alternatif untuk pengendalian JAP adalah pemanfaatan jamur Trichoderma spp. Mekanisme pengendalian Trichoderma spp. terhadap jamur patogen tumbuhan yaitu dengan kompetisi terhadap tempat tumbuh dan nutrisi, antibiosis, dan parasitisme. Antibiosis mempunyai peran penting dalam proses pengendalian dan hampir selalu terkait dengan mekanisme lain yaitu kompetisi dan mikoparasitisme. Satu mekanisme penghambatan yang dimiliki Trichoderma spp. tidak dapat bekerja sendiri untuk menghasilkan penghambatan yang signifikan. Konsep pengendalian penyakit dengan agen hayati akan berhasil jika terdapat keseimbangan antara faktor suhu, pH, dan kelembaban yang optimum. Mekanisme antagonisme yang dimiliki oleh Trichoderma spp. berpotensi besar sebagai pengendali patogen tular tanah Rigidoporus microporus penyebab penyakit jamur akar putih.

Penyakit jamur akar putih yang disebabkan oleh jamur Rigidoporus microporus merupakan salah satu penyakit penting pada tanaman karet di Indonesia, baik di perkebunan besar maupun rakyat. Kerugian secara finansial akibat penyakit ini sangat tinggi terutama di perkebunan karet rakyat. Pengendalian yang disarankan untuk penyakit ini adalah dengan pengendalian terpadu yaitu integrasi beberapa teknik pengendalian seperti pembongkaran tunggul, tanaman penutup tanah kacangan, seleksi bahan tanam, tanaman antagonis, biofungisida serta fungisida kimia yang diaplikasikan secara bijak. Hasil pengendalian pada umumnya masih belum memuaskan karena beberapa kendala teknis maupun non-teknis. Salah satu kendala yang cukup mengganggu yaitu mahalnya biaya, terutama bagi pekebun karet rakyat. Sebagai salah satu unsur dalam pengendalian terpadu, pengendalian secara biologi merupakan metode yang berpotensi besar. Pengendalian biologi menggunakan Trichoderma sp. sudah digunakan secara luas dan terbukti efektivitasnya. Cara tersebut tidak hanya efektif sebagai upaya preventif, tetapi juga murah, mudah diaplikasikan, dan ramah terhadap lingkungan. Triko Combi merupakan biofungisida semi-komersial yang diformulasi Balai Penelitian Getas dan memiliki empat jenis bahan aktif, yaitu Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma harzianum dan satu strain lokal Trichoderma sp. Pada percobaan dengan infeksi buatan Rigidoporus microporus di pembibitan polibeg menunjukkan adanya penekanan intensitas penyakit oleh perlakuan kombinasi empat jenis Trichoderma spp. tersebut dibandingkan bibit tanpa perlakuan, maupun bibit dengan aplikasi fungisida kimia. Hasil yang signifikan juga diperoleh melalui pengujian penghambatan langsung miselium Rigidoporus microporus secara in-vitro di laboratorium.

Abstract-Maize or corn (Zea mays L.) belongs to the family of grasses (Poaceae).Maize is grown globally and one of the most important cereal crop in the world. In many countries, corn is the main agricultural crop, and are used as food, feed and industrial raw materials. Together with rice and wheat, corn included in the cereals that provide about 65% carbohydrates and 50% protein that humans need. For this purpose, many developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa are in a strong effort to increase their corn yields through the use of better seeds. Although in Indonesia, corn is the second important food crop after rice, however, with the rapid growth of the livestock industry, corn is a major component (60%) in feed ingredient. It is estimated that more than 55% of the corn used for feed in Indonesia. Java Downy Mildew (Peronosclerospora maydis) is the main disease that is concerned by maize corn growers. This disease often resulting in substantial losses for farmers, even reach 100% in susceptible genotypes. Therefore screening trial on 11 new prospective hybrids was conducted with the expectation that these new cultivars can be classified in the criteria "less resistant or higher" according to the criteria of modified Reid. Of the 11 new hybrid cultivars, 3 new hybrids (27.3%) classified in the criteria "very resistant", 4 new hybrids (36.4%) classified in the criteria "resistant", 2 new hybrid (18.2%) classified in the criteria "less resistant", and 2 other new hybrids (18.2%) classified in the criteria "less susceptible".

Turcicum leaf blight (TLB) is a leaf disease caused by the fungus Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) Leonard and Suggs. In Indonesia, TLB was first discovered in North Sumatra in 1917 (Van Hall 1929), and now is found throughout Indonesia (Semangun 2008). Losses due to yield decrease will be greater when the plant is infected at the time of flowering and grain filling phase. Resistant varieties are the most effective way of controlling TLB. The purpose of this research was to test 11 new hybrid maize genotypes to determine the level of TLB resistance. The research was conducted in 2 season, using randomize complete block design, 3 replication and 2 control genotypes. Based on statistical examinations and CIMMYT (1999) scoring system, it could be concluded that 10 prospective genotypes (90.9%) which were SSU3X28871,

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the second important commodity after rice in Indonesia. As of 2015, more than 3 million tons of maize grain still need to be imported. It is caused by productivity of maize which remains low due to the lowness proportion of hybrid maize seed. In addition to a single cross, threeway cross seed is still necessary as alternatives for farmers rather than open pollinated cultivar ones. The purpose of this study was to evaluate grain yield of 11 prospective genotypes utilizing BISI 18 and Sukmaraga as control cultivars. Randomized block design (RBD) with three replications was adopted. The study was carried out in the dry season 2015. The result of this study showed that at 95% confidence level (α α α α=0.05), prospective genotype SSUSX48274 performed significantly better than BISI 18 and Sukmaraga, while others yielded significantly better than Sukmaraga, but equal to BISI 18. All new prospective genotypes could be included in the multilocation trial in order to release superior varieties.