Edyta Đermić

Enhanced growth of cabbage and red beet by Trichoderma viride \ Pospešena rast zelja in rdeče pese z dodatkom glive Trichoderma viride

The main agricultural importance of Trichoderma species was not so far away mainly suppression of plant diseases. Novel investigations emphasize their potential to stimulate plant growth independently of suppression of any plant disease. However, Trichoderma spp. and even biotypes of same species vary between each other in its effectiveness both in the control of plant pathogenic fungi and in the promotion of plant growth and increasing yield. The subject of this study was to evaluate growth promoting effect of two indigenous T. viride stains STP16 and STP8 on cabbage and red beet. Increment of fresh and dry weight accomplished by STP16 was statistically significant so, it could be concluded that growth enhancement of 27% at red beet and 29% at cabbage is significant.

Kinetics and Mechanisms of Chemical and Biological Agents Release from Biopolymeric Microcapsules

Kinetics and mechanisms of copper cations and Trichoderma viride spores release from uncoated and chitosan coated alginate microcapsules were investigated. The gelation of a fixed amount of sodium alginate at different concentrations of copper ion solutions resulted in distinct kinetics and release mechanisms. The increase in copper cation concentration promoted, but the presence of the chitosan layer on the microcapsule surface and the increase in microcapsule size reduced the rate of active agent release. Fitting to simple Korsmeyer-Peppas empirical model revealed that the underlying release mechanism (Fickian diffusion or a combination of the diffusion and erosion mechanisms) depends on the copper cation concentration and presence of T. viride spores. The investigation pointed out that the proper selection of formulation variables helps in designing microcapsules with the desirable release of copper ions and T. viride for plant protection and nutrition.