Agriculture:- Model Bankable Projects in India | Land Development : Biopesticide Unit Part 4 --- www.nabard.org

Agriculture:- Model Bankable Projects in India | Land Development : Biopesticide Unit Part 4 --- www.nabard.org

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E. Technology for mass production of Trichoderma fungi 1. Introduction 1.1 Crop losses due to soil borne plant pathogens worldwide are Pythium spp., Furarium oxysporum, sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani and Phytophthora spp. These fungi pathogens generally cause wilt disease in many crops. Trichoderma, a fungi, which grow saprophytically in soils have proved as an effective biocontrol agent of wilt diseases. 1.2 Trichoderma spp. are commonly found in almost any soil and other natural habitats consisting of organic matter such as decaying bark, plant material, etc. They grow trophically towards hyphae of other pathogenic fungi, coil them and degrade their cell walls. This process is called "mycoparasitism", which limits the growth and activity of plant pathogenic fungi. In addition, they produce toxic metabolites which protect the seeds from soil borne pathogenic fungi, by forming a protective coating on them. 1.3 Trichoderma spp. are saprophytic fungi that grow best in neutral and acid soils and thrive well in moist conditions. 1.4 The important species available for mass production are Trichoderma viride and Trichoderma harzianum 1.5 Equipments required: Equipments like fermentor, rotary mixer, auto packer, rotary shaker, laminar flow, water distillation unit, refrigerator, haemo cytometer etc. are required for the production of Trichoderma fungi. 2. Major steps in production process Inoculation | Fermenter run | Harvesting | Blending | Drying and Packing 3. Outlines for production of Trichoderma The pure mother culture of Trichoderma fungi is being maintained in Agri. Universities, IARI, some ICAR institutions (like PDBC, Bangalore) etc. The mother culture can be purchased from the identified sources. They have to be further sub-cultured and maintained purely for mass production by adopting standard techniques under the supervision of trained microbiologist / pathologist. The culture has to be mass multiplied in two levels namely (i) at primary level using shakers in flasks and (ii) secondary stage multiplication in fermenters. The important factor in this is the preparation of growing medium in which the culture is mass multiplied. For Trichoderma Fungi, the growing media used in the model is molasis and protein material. After the growing media is formulated and sterilised in fermenter, it is inoculated using the culture multiplied in the flasks. The molasis based culture media is continuously aerated by passing sterile air from compressors. After about 3-4 days fermentation period, the culture will be ready for packing in a carrier material. While the inoculated culture is gathering ready in the fermenters, the carrier material is sterilised in autoclaves and kept ready for mixing the culture. Talk powder is reported to be the commonly used carrier material for Trichoderma Fungi. The cultured (fungi) and sterilised carriers are mixed mechanically in a blender and the material is packed using semi automatic packing and sealing machine.

4. Dosage Talc based formulations of the fungal antagonists are applied at the rate of 4gm per kg of seed for controlling soilborne plant diseases. Mix the powder with sufficient quantity of water to make slurry for treating seed before sowing. 5. Advantages of Trichoderma applicatiom Ecofriendly Can be used along with organic manure Trichoderma spp. are also known to suppress plant parasitic nematodes (roo-knot nematodes). Lower cost and longer efficacy than fungicides Does not lead to development of resistance in plant pathogens No physotoxic effects Minimises losses and cost of production and increases yield & profit. Promoter plant growth 6. Application 6.1 Soil application Trichoderma spp. suppress the activity of soil borne fungal pathogens, especially Rhizoctania solani and Pythium spp. and protect transplanted seedlings by colonizing their roots. 6.2 Seed treatment Seed treatment is an alternative approach to introduce Trichoderma spp. into the soil. This method requires smaller amounts of biological material than soil treatment. Unlike chemical fungicides, Trichoderma spp. provide long term protection without any adverse side effects. F. Sex pheromone traps of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura 1. Introduction 1.1 Sex pheromones are single or complex blend of different chemicals released by one insect to attract the opposite sex of the same species. In general, females (especially the moths) emit sex attractants to attract males for mating. Sex pheromones are artificially synthesized in the laboratories and supplied as sex pheromone lures. Such pheromones are placed in the field to attract trap and kill the males, thus matting is not allowed. Hence, sex pheromone traps can be considered as a key component in Integrated Pest Management (IPM). 1.2 Ready-to-use Sex pheromone lures and traps are available for Helicoverpa armigera (attacking crops like cotton, redgram, tomato, okra, sunflower, chillies, maize, sorghum etc.) and spodoptera litura (attacking crops like tobacco, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, cabbage, beetroot, cauliflower, etc.) 2. Advantages of pheromone lures No harmful effects to beneficial insects, non-target organism or an environment. Helps in monitoring & early detection of pests (at moth stage only) Helps in scheduling pest control measures Reduction in usage of insecticides Much simpler 3. Equipment needed Only micropippets are required in addition to rubber septas, traps and pouches. 4. Production of Pheromone Traps Sex pheromones are insect specific, produced artificially in laboratories and they are generally imported. In India, it is available from National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune. Chemicals obtained from laboratory is diluted to the required dosage and filled into plastic lures with the help of micro pippets and closed with rubber septa. Lures are individually sachet packed and should be stored under refrigerated conditions when not in use. 5. Field application Lures containing sex pheromones are placed into insect trap and erected in the field at a recommended spacing. The lure will release the sex pheromane at a constant rate over a period of 2-4 weeks. Male months are attracted and while attempting for matting, fall into a container having pesticide. Thus the female moths in the field are deprived of successful mates and fail to reproduce or lay viable eggs. 6. Dosage Timely use of sex pheromone helps in early detection and prompt action against pests. In general, 2-3 traps / acre are recommended for 'monitoring' or more for 'mass-trapping'. These are arranged such that the trap is 1-2 feet above the crop canopy. On the field each lure is effective for atleast 15 days. Change the lures once in two weeks. Exhibit I

Mass Production of Trichogramma spp.

Preparation of sorghum feed material     Corcyra charging - host insect     Collection of moths     Transfer of moths to oviposition cages     Collection of eggs     Cleaning, sieving of eggs & spreading on gummed cards     Exposure of cards with eggs to UV radiation     Introduction of Trichogramma spp. (Ratio - 1 : 5)     Transportation & field release of Trichocards

Exhibit II Mass production & Application of Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus

Field collection of eggs/larval stages of host insects from infested fields or adults from light/pheromone traps   Procurement of nucleus culture of host insects from insectaries or mass rearing units Transfer of moths to oviposition cages     Collection and surface sterilisation of eggs   Rearing of larvae on natural or semi-synthetic diet ® Inoculation of larvae with NPV & Rearing of diseased larvae Collection and surface sterilisation of pupae   Checking of quality of NPV based on POB counts & Containerisation of NPV Transfer of pupae to adult emergence cages   Field application

Model 1 - Annexures