A Simple Method for Harvesting Trichoderma Asperellum Spores

Abstract

The fungus Trichoderma asperellum has a great potential to be used as biocontrol agent against plant pathogens in field. For this purpose it is necessary to optimize mass production on an industrial scale. This work proposes a method for the recovery and concentration of T. asperellum spores. The addition of the fertilizer Urfos 44x®, decreased pH value of spore suspension from 6.31 to 1.76. This condition allowed spores to flocculate in few hours, rendering a more concentrated suspension by a factor of 6 - 7. Spore viability did not significantly decreased in 72 hours under these conditions. These results will contribute to obtain more concentrated products based on T. asperellum using a fast and low cost method.