Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(2): 2085-2093 2085 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.702.248 Antagonistic Potential and Molecular Characterization of Trichoderma spp. against Rhizoctonia solani Infecting Ghost Pepper in Manipur, India Khedarani Koijam and Bireswar Sinha* Department of Plant Pathology, Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba-795004, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Bhut jolokia (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is one of the world’s hottest chilli entered in the Guinness book of world record (2006). Many pest and diseases ruined Bhut jolokia and among them damping-off disease of seedling as well root and stem rot in young transplants caused by Rhizoctonia solani is one of the important limiting factor in cultivation and production (Ngullie and Daiho, 2013). Even though numbers of crop plant diseases are managed by chemicals it causes degradation of beneficial microbes in the soil, physiological resistance in the pathogen and pollution. To keep away from such problems and combat of plant pathogens, use of biocontrol agents becomes necessary. The idea of biological control of soil borne pathogen was advanced by Weindling (1932), on the antagonism by T. viride against soil fungi like Rhizoctonia, Pythium, Phytophthora, Sclerotium. Trichoderma performs very well against several plant pathogens in green house as well as in the field conditions therefore it could be an alternative or supplement to chemical International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 02 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The present study was undertaken to analyze the effect of the native Trichoderma spp., isolated from the rhizosphere of ghost pepper ( Capsicum chinense) against root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani. Rhizospheric Trichoderma spp. were isolated from ghost pepper growing sites of Manipur and screened for their biocontrol potential against Rhizoctonia solani. Four fungal isolates were isolated and selected based on morphology and growth pattern. Molecular identification was carried out and an amplicon size of 262 bp were generated for fungus. Screening of the potent isolates showed variation on the radial growth of the pathogen, Rhizoctonia solani. Seven different substrates viz. Rice bran, Rice bran + Sugarcane juice (10%), Rice bran+Cowdung (1:1)+Jaggery (3%), Rice bran+ Cowdung (1:1)+Sugarcane juice (10%), Rice bran+Sugar (3%), Rice bran+ Mustard cake (1:1) + Jaggery (3%), Rice bran+ Mustard cake (1:1) + Sugarcane juice (10%) were evaluated for mass production of the most potent Trichoderma spp. Among the different substrate, highest population was recorded in rice bran + mustard cake (1:1) + sugarcane juice (10%) from CAU (13.33 x 10 8 cfug -1 ) isolate at 30 days of incubation. Keywords Biocontrol, Mass production, Screening Accepted: 18 January 2018 Available Online: 10 February 2018 Article Info