BIOCONTROL POTENTIAL OF NEMATODE-TARGETING FUNGI FROM COFFEE PLANT RHIZOSPHERE AGAINST PRATYLENCHUS COFFEAE ROOT LESION NEMATODE

Environmentally friendly control techniques need to be developed to overcome the negative impact of nematicides in controlling the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae. This study aimed to isolate nematode-trageting fungi and evaluating them by performing pathogenicity tests on P. coffeae. The results revealed five selected isolates with?> 50 mortality out of the 58 tested isolates: PIIIB0402b, PIVB0402a, PIIB0402b, PIVA0302b, and PIVA0402b. Phenotypic character identification and analysis using ITS rDNA regional molecular markers confirmed that four isolates belonged to Penicillium, while one isolate remained unidentified at the genus level but was considered as Ascomycota. Among the five selected isolates, PIIIB0402b and PIVB0402a showed the most potential to be developed as biocontrol agents, with mortality rates of 77.5 and 67.0, respectively. However, further research is required to assess the efficacy and feasibility of these antagonistic fungus isolates as a biocontrol method for Pratylenchus nematodes on coffee plants.