Development and standardization of culture media prepared by sugarcane juice, a natural source for causal agent of sugarcane red rot disease Colletotrichum falcatum

Natural and synthetic are the two general types of culture media. The exact nature of natural media substrates is unique and cannot be duplicated exactly. Natural media are usually easy to prepare and almost provide true to the type of its host. Sugarcane juice is a rich source of sucrose sugar and several essential nutrients needed to the Colletotrichum falcatum for its appropriate growth and development. In the line sugarcane juice agar medium was developed for the growth and sporulation of fungi Colletotrichum falcatum, causal agent of red rot of sugarcane. The sugarcane juice agar medium was compared with Oat Meal Agar medium which is designated as best medium for growth and sporulation of C. falcatum. Among the seven different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 50% and 100%) of sugarcane juice agar media used for the study of different C. falcatum isolates, 20 % concentration of sugarcane juice in the sugarcane juice agar media was found to be best suitable for the growth and sporulation of C. falcatum. The objective of the present study was to optimize sugarcane juice concentration and formulate a defined and cost effective medium as cheap source for the study of cultural and morphological characteristics of Colletotrichum falcatum pathogen.