In this study, the potential of antagonistic isolates in inhibiting
the growth of a pathogen under metal stress is evaluated. Isolates
selected were Diaporthe sp. (WAA02), Trichoderma asperellum (T2),
and Penicillium citrinum (BTF08) (Ting et al., 2009; Ting et al.,
2012). The pathogen selected was Ganoderma boninense, the causal
agent of Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease in oil palms (Rajesh et al.,
2014). The pathogen is ideal for this study as BSR is prevalent in
peat soils, due to the mass planting and the higher plant per area
density (Azahar et al., 2014). The isolates were first examined for
their tolerance to the various metals. The antifungal activities were
determined using dual culture plate assays. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and viability test was conducted to determine
the morphological changes in response to metal concentrations
and the antifungal compounds, respectively. Pearson correlation
test was employed to determine the correlation between growth
and antifungal activities of the isolates. This study would reveal
the influence of metal species and their concentration on growth
and subsequent antifungal expression of antagonistic isolates.