Actinomycete isolates were evaluated for their antifungal
activity against FOC (Race 1; causal agent of Fusarium wilt in
chickpea), Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub) Butter (three strains viz.
RB-6, RB-24 and RB-115; causal agent of dry root rot in chickpea)
and Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. (causal agent of charcoal
rot in sorghum) by dual-culture assay. FOC and all the three
strains of R. bataticola were acquired from the Legumes Pathology
Division, ICRISAT, Patancheru, India and M. phaseolinawas acquired
from the Directorate of Sorghum Research, Hyderabad, India.
A fungal disk (FOC/R. bataticola) of 6 mm dia. was placed on one
edge (1 cm from the corner) of the glucose casamino acid yeast
extract (GCY agar; Anjaiah et al., 1998) plate, and actinomycete
isolate was streaked on the other edge of the plate (1 cm from the
corner), followed by incubation at 28 2 C for four days or until
the pathogen covered the entire plate in the control plate. Inhibition
of fungal mycelium (halo zone) around the actinomycete
colony was noted as positive and the inhibition zone measured.