Fungal isolates from agroindustrial waste as potential biocontrol agents Jovicic Petrovic J.¹, Raicevic V.¹, Sivcev B.¹, Kikovic D.², Kljujev I.¹ ¹University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade-Zemun ²Faculty of natural sciences, Kosovska Mitrovica Morphologically different fungi were isolated form: rape – residue from grape wine production, compost made of sop from plum brandy production, and waste from tobacco industry – tobacco dust and waste leaves. Isolation was performed using serial dilution method on Rose-Bengal selective medium with streptomycin (Peper et al., 1995). In vitro essays were accomplished through the method of paired cultures on Potato dextrose agar medium. Zones of inhibition, appearance of pigments, density and diameter of test pathogen colony were observed after 5-7 days, depending on growth rate of investigated pathogen. Fungi were identified conventionally according to their macroscopic and microscopic features. The analysis of morphological properties of six isolates led to the identification at the species level : Isolate G1 – Penicillium paneum Isolate G2 – Penicillium chrysogenum Isolate G3 – Aspergillus fumigatus Isolate 19/5 – Rhizopus oryzae Isolate 10/5 – Trichoderma longibrachiatum Isolate A/5 – Aspergillus niger F2 Rhizoctonia sp. Botrytis cinerea Fusarium oxysporum Pythium sp. G1 Zones of growth inhibition (3- 4mm) Reduced diameter of mycelia - Zones of growth inhibition (5- 8mm) G2 Reduced density of mycelia Reduced diameter of mycelia Reduced diameter and brighter color of mycelia Zones of growth inhibition (5mm) G3 - Zones of growth inhibition (5mm) Reduced diameter and brighter color of mycelia Zone of reduced density of mycelia (15mm) 19/5 - - - Reduced diameter of mycelia 10/5 Reduced diameter and density of mycelia Reduced diameter of mycelia and zones of growth inhibition (1mm) Reduced diameter of mycelia Reduced diameter of mycelia A/5 Reduced diameter and density of mycelia A/5 produces yellow pigment in contact with B. cinerea - Zones of growth inhibition (1mm) Results and Discussion Considering the result that 6 isolates of fungi from investigated agroindustrial waste have some antagonistic effect on at least one of the phytopatogenic fungi: F. oxysporum, B. cinerea, Rhizoctonia sp. and Pythium sp., it can be concluded that rape from grape wine industry and compost form sop from plum brandy production have some biological potential that could be used in suppression of some plant phytopathogens. In the further investigations it is needed to confirm the identification results by molecular methods. Further in vitro investigations that are planned are directed towards understanding the mechanism of antagonistic effect of the isolates. ACNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper is part of the research that has been conducted under the project TR 31080 financed by the Ministry of Science and Technological dvelopement, Republic of Serbia. Introduction The agricultural industry is responsible for the production of large volumes of residual by-products. It is apparent that new methods of utilizing agro-residues are needed in order to achieve sustainable management of agricultural waste. Agro-waste management is aimed at minimizing waste production, reducing environmental pollution and enhancing the recycling capacity of substrates (Cebar, 2006). Benefits of compost as organic substrate additives in plant cultivation and suppression of soil borne diseases have been extensively reviewed by several authors (Hoitink et al., 2001; Noble and Coventry, 2005). Adding compost to soil improves the physical and chemical properties of soil and increases the number and diversity of bacteria and fungi in soil (Stoffella and Kahn, 2001). Some of those fungal and bacterial species have been recognized as natural antagonists of fungi that cause plant diseases. The aim of this work was isolation of fungi form agroindustrial waste, and screening for isolates with some antagonistic effect on Rhizoctonia sp., Bortitys cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Pythium sp., in in vitro conditions. KEY WORDS: agroindustrial waste, biocontrol agents, antagonism, fungi . Six of the 33 isolates induced some changes in growth of the tested fungi, including isolates: G1, G2, G3, 19/5, 10/5 and A/5. Isolates G1, G2 and G3 originate form grape, while isolates 19/5, 10/5 and A/5 from sop from plum brandy production. The antagonistic properties that were noticed are represented in Table1. Picture1: Fungal isolates from grape – residue from grape wine production Picture2: Zones of growth inhibition: Botrytis cinerea and G3 isolate Table1: Results of the dual test assay Material and Methods