3. Results
3.1. Selection of antagonistic actinomycete isolates
A total of 137 actinomycetes, the most prominent isolates (the
ones which were found abundantly, produced pigments and
inhibited the adjacent colonies) in the SCA plate, were isolated from
the 25 different herbal vermicompost samples and further
screened for their antagonistic potential against FOC by in vitro
dual-culture assay. Of the 137 actinomycete isolates, only 33 of
them were found to have the antagonistic potential against FOC.
When the five most potential FOC antagonistic actinomycetes
[compost actinomycete isolate (CAI) 24, CAI-121, CAI-127, and
Karnataka actinomycete isolate (KAI) 32 and KAI-90; all originated
from the 25 different herbal vermicomposts] were evaluated
further for their antagonistic potential against M. phaseolina and
R. bataticola in the dual-culture assay, two isolates (KAI-32 and