Judul: Morphological Characterization and Antagonism Mechanism of Entomopathogenic Fungi towards Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) Causal Agents of Banana’s Panama Disease
Abstrak: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) merupakan cendawan patogen tular tanah penyebab layu panama pada tanaman pisang. Pengendalian Foc banyak dilakukan termasuk menggunakan agen hayati seperti cendawan. Namun, potensi cendawan entomopatogen sebagai agen biokontrol patogen Foc belum banyak diteliti. Oleh sebab itu, penelitian ini bertujuan mengevaluasi mekanisme antagonisme empat kultur cendawan entomopatogen PS 4, PS 9, PS 11, yang berasal dari kawasan Situ Gunung, Sukabumi, Jawa Barat, serta KRC asal Kebun Raya Cibodas terhadap Foc, dan mengarakterisasi morfologinya. Cendawan entomopatogen diamati ciri morfologinya dan dipasangkan dengan Foc menggunakan metode kultur ganda. Kontrol dibuat tanpa berpasangan dengan cendawan entomopatogen. Persentase daya hambat dan pertumbuhan diameter koloni Foc pada uji antagonisme disusun dalam Rancangan Acak Lengkap (RAL) kemudian dianalisis menggunakan program SPSS versi 25.0. Cendawan entomopatogen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini memiliki hifa septat dan tidak bersporulasi serta pertumbuhan koloninya lebih kecil dari Foc. Kultur KRC menghambat koloni Foc sebesar 67,18% dan termasuk aktivitas antagonisme kuat. Kultur PS 4, PS 9, dan PS 11 menghambat koloni Foc berturut-turut sebesar 18,37%, 31,86%, dan 21,72% serta termasuk aktivitas antagonisme lemah. Kultur PS 9 menyebabkan pembentukan klamidospora pada hifa Foc, sedangkan ketiga kultur lainnya menyebabkan pembentukan vakuolisasi pada hifa Foc. Semua cendawan entomopatogen menghambat melalui mekanisme kompetisi ruang., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is a soil-borne pathogenic fungus that causes Panama wilt on banana plants. Foc control has been done, including using biological agents such as fungi. However, the potential of entomopathogenic fungi as biocontrol agents for Foc pathogen has not been widely studied. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the mechanism of antagonism of four entomopathogenic fungi PS 4, PS 9, and PS 11 originating from Situ Gunung, Sukabumi, West Java, and KRC from Cibodas Botanical Gardens against Foc, and to characterize their morphology. The entomopathogenic fungi were observed for their morphological characteristics and paired with the pathogenic fungi Foc using the dual culture method. The control was made without the addition of entomopathogenic fungi. The percentage of inhibition and growth of Foc colony diameter in the antagonism test was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) and then analyzed using the SPSS version 25.0 program. The entomopathogenic fungi used in this study had septate and non-sporulated hyphae and smaller colony growth than Foc. KRC culture inhibited Foc colonies by 67.18% and included vigorous antagonism activity. PS 4, PS 9, and PS 11 cultures inhibited Foc colonies by 18.37%, 31.86%, and 21.72%, respectively, and included weak antagonistic activity. The PS 9 culture caused the formation of chlamydospores in the Foc hyphae, while the other three cultures caused the formation of vacuolization in the Foc hyphae. All entomopathogenic fungi inhibit through the mechanism of space competition.
Keyword: chlamydospores, dual cultures, inhibition, pathogen, vacuolization