Bijaya Kumar Nayak

ABSTRACT

Isolation and enumeration of endophytic and phylloplane fungi from different leaf samples of the medicinal plant, Solanum nigrum was carried out in the Microbiology laboratory, Department of Botany, K.M. Center for P.G Studies (Autonomous), Pondicherry during early 2015. Agar plate and moist chamber techniques were used to isolate the endophytic and ectophytic fungi. During the study period, a total of 16 fungi were isolated under 10 genera from both agar plate and moist chamber plates. Incidence of the fungi isolated by moist chamber was less than agar plates. In agar plate technique, Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus awamori, Alternaria sp., recorded from the leaf samples but, in moist chamber, Torula herbarum, Trichoderma harzianum and Aspergillus flavus were recorded from the leaf samples. Alternaria sp., Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus awamori, A. flavipes, A. niger Monascus sp., Penicillium citrinum, P. digitatum, Torula herbarum and Trichoderma harzianum were identified as phylloplane fungi and Alternaria sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Brown sterile mycelia, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. digitatum, Torula herbarum, Trichoderma sp. and White sterile mycelia were recognized as endophytes. Of all fungi recorded, Torula herbarum was found as the true endophytes among the total number of isolated phylloplane and endophytic fungi from the leaf samples of Solanum nigrum by two different methods. Moist chamber method was found to be easy to isolate endophytic and phylloplane fungi correctly in comparison to agar plate method, where the sporulation of fungi was very fast than the moist chamber. Key words: Phylloplane, Endophytic fungi, Medicinal plant, Solanum nigrum.