Prospects for using Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. for biological control of phytopathogenic fungi

Abstract

Antifungal, morphological and cultural properties of the Siberian and Abkhaz strains of the medicinal basidiomycete Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst were studied. A group of strains characterized by high growth rates in vitro on agar media (7.3-8.0 mm / day) and plant waste from timber processing (3.3-3.9 mm / day) was found. All strains of G. lucidum exhibited antifungal activity against phytopathogenic fungi; the degree of phytopathogen inhibition ranged from 10 to 58 %. Basidial rootrot fungi Heterobasidion and ascomycete fungi Bipolaris, Alternaria, Fusarium are the most sensitive to the presence of G. lucidum. The cultures most effectively limiting the phytopathogen development in the group of fast-growing Abkhaz strains (antifungal activity ranged from 21 to 58%) were identified. The high antifungal activity of strains on lignocellulosic substrates allows us to consider them as promising biocontrol agents for reducing the number, primarily, of basidial phytopathogens.