Abstract

One of the main diseases of chili plant in Indonesia is Fusarium wilt caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. This study aims to determine whether fungal isolates isolated from oyster spent media substrate (OSMS) have antagonistic ability against F. oxysporum and are not pathogenic in chili plants. The research was conducted by isolating, identifying and characterizing fungal isolates isolated from OSMS, then conducting dual culture tests between OSMS isolates and F. oxysporum in the laboratory, as well as conducting trials in a seedling house to see the effect of inoculation of OSMS fungal isolates on the pathogenicity and growth of chili plants. The results showed that the fungal isolates successfully isolated from OSMS were identified as the genus Trichoderma and Gliocladium. The antagonistic ability of isolates from OSMS in inhibiting F. oxysporum ranged from 45.3–57.53%. The results of the trial in the seedling house showed that the OSMS isolates statistically did not affect plant growth and were not pathogenic in chili plants. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the application of Trichoderma and Gliocladium obtained from OSMS can be an alternative initial foundation in controlling F. oxysporum in chili plants