DETACHED LEAF ASSAY FOR in vitro SCREENING OF POTENTIAL BIOCONTROL AGENTS TO CONTROL GOOSEGRASS WEED (Eleusine indica)

Eleusine indica (goosegrass) is a hard to control tropical grass weed that thrives in open spaces with full sunlight and is one of the many weeds found in oil palm plantations in Malaysia. The use of biocontrol agents (BCA) to manage E. indica offers specificity and environmentally safer alternatives to chemical control and help reduces a widespread incidence of herbicide resistance. In vitro detached leaf assay has been carried out to screen for potential BCA to suppress the infestation of E. indica. A total of 190 fungi were isolated from the diseased parts of E. indica which originated from oil palm plantations and were tested for its potential as BCA. Leaves of E. indica were floated in vitro on a 0.5% w/v agar media supplemented with 100 mu g ml(-1) benomyl and inoculated with mycelial plugs of the isolated fungi. Four isolates namely G5S5, G5S1, G11S3 and G11L24 were observed to be pathogenic to the targeted weed in vitro, showing initial evidence as potential BCA to suppress E. indica.