ISSN 2384-5066
Abstract
Accepted 23rd July, 2016
Laboratory experiment was conducted to determine the effect of water availability on growth and conidiation of C. lindemuthianum using unmodified Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media, water activity,(aw) = 0.995 and PDA modified with non-ionic solute glycerol, aw =0.97, 0.964 and 0.91. The results from the study shows that the rate of growth and conidiation varied significantly at different levels of water availability (aw) being highest when water was freely available (aw = 0.995) and decreased with water stress (aw = 0.97-0.91). The rates of growth of the fungus at 0.995 and 0.91 aw were 4.34 and 3.38 mmday-1 respectively.
Keywords: Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, water activity, growth rate, and conidiation