Twenty isolates of Trichoderma were obtained from orchards located in three main mango-producing
States in Mexico: Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Michoacan, which represent different agronomical management
practices and levels of soil fertility. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Trichoderma isolates belong to the
following taxa: Hypocrea lixii (10 isolates), Hypocrea jecorina (four isolates), Trichoderma asperellum (three
isolates), Trichoderma spirale (two isolates), and Trichoderma brevicompactum (one isolate). The genus
Hypocrea is the teleomorph (sexual) stage of the genus Trichoderma, anamorph stage. Seventeen Trichoderma
isolates showed at least 67% growth inhibition against the phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum
gloeosporioides ATCC MYA 456 and three Trichoderma isolates showed complete overgrowth of this pathogen.
One member of this group, identified as T. asperellum T8a, was able to control C. gloeosporioides
ATCC MYA 456 in vitro and in vivo, as well as five C. gloeosporioides isolates obtained from mango orchards
from the State of Oaxaca. Assay of the lytic enzymes involved suggest that cellulases of T. asperellum T8a
play a role in biological control against C. gloeosporioides ATCC MYA 456 more than chitinase or glucanase.
Thus, native T. asperellum T8a associated with mango trees can be used to enhance mango production,
controlling anthracnose through cellulase activity.