ISOLATION, IDENTIFICATION, AND IN VITRO SCREENING OF FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES AGAINST PATOHOGEN OF MAIZE LEAF BLIGHT, HELMINTHOSPORIUM MAYDIS

Sixty three isolates of fungal endophytes were isolated from the root of maize var. Pulut (a local variety of south Sulawesi).The isolates belonged to five genera, namely :Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp., Acremonium sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., and Botryodiplodia sp. The isolates were screened in vitro to determine their control potentials against pathogen of maize leaf blight, Helminthosporium maydis. Three of those isolates, Acremonium sp., Aspergillus sp and Trichoderma sp., effectively inhibited the growth of the pathogen with a suppression level of 90 % four days after the isolate applications