Centre : Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI)
Name of the technology :
Trichoderma Coir Pith Cake and cup formulation (TCPC) for management of bud rot disease of coconut and stem canker and seedling blight disease of cocoa
Low cost formulations with locally available substrates are necessary for wide adoption of bio-control formulation for management of plant diseases. A technology has been developed to prepare a Trichoderma formulation viz., Trichoderma coir pith cake & cup (TCPC) using coir pith, ‘maida’ flour and Trichoderma harzianum (CPCRI TR 28) biomass. To prepare the formulation as a solid cake, 30 g mixture (coir pith, maida and T. harzianum biomass) was compressed manually using a kitchen press, very common in Indian kitchen used for making different food items. To prepare a single solid cake, 30 g mixture was kept inside the outer case of the kitchen press kept on a plastic sheet. Then it was compressed using the inner cylinder to get solid cake. The cakes thus prepared were dried in an oven at 38-40 °C for 4 days. It has been found that dried TCPC packed in polythene bags can be stored at room temperature (26-30 °C) for 10 months with high level of T. harzianum population. Through a simple activation process of moistening the dried TCPC and incubating under room temperature for 2 days, luxurious growth of Trichoderma covering the entire product is seen.
The Trichoderma cake formulation can be used on any crop and for infection of any plant part. The Trichoderma cup formulation can be used in raising the seedlings
1. Formulation with more than 10 months shelf life 2. All green materials and completely biodegradable 3. Concept of “wealth from waste” better way of waste management 4. Reactivation of the formulation (even after 10 months) with water regains the Trichoderma population to recommended CFU.
Status of Commercialization : Applied for patent