Fungal isolation was performed from surface-sterilized roots.
Sections of roots were immersed in 95 % ethanol for 20 s followed
by a treatment in 5 % sodium hypochlorite for 3 min
and washed seven times with sterile distilled water. Ten external
portions of sections were excised with flamed scalpels
under sterile conditions and each section was transferred
into Petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar (PDA: potato
starch 4 g l1
, dextrose 20 g l1
, agar 15 g l1
) or malt agar (MA:
malt extract 30 g l1
, agar 15 g l1
). Plates were incubated in
the dark at 20 C for up to 3 weeks.