The odor coming form the plate could only be described as a strong smelling soil or dirt. Then by streaking Actinomycetes onto a plate of nutrient agar which had a layer of mixed lawn growth and soft agar on its surface. Where a clearing zone is the result of bacterial cell death caused by bacteriophage infection. Also who told you to do the assay this way or provided you with the materials to do it. The plaques proved that the Actinomycetes were producing some kind of antibiotics which were inhibiting the growth of the lawn organisms.
Actinomycetes are also aerobic bacteria.
By observing the margins of the Actinomycete colonies they appear to be very filamentous. This is because Actinomycetes have branching filaments which contain spores. Most of the spores are not particularly heat-resistant but are very adaptive otherwise. When no particular species is isolated or further characterization is not done follow genus name with the abbreviation sp. Azobacter are nitrogen fixing bacteria.