Abstract

Environmentally friendly control techniques need to be developed to overcome the negative impact of nematicides in controlling the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae . This study aimed to isolate nematode-trageting fungi and evaluating them by performing pathogenicity tests on P. coffeae .  The results revealed five selected isolates with > 50% mortality out of the 58 tested isolates: PIIIB0402b, PIVB0402a, PIIB0402b, PIVA0302b, and PIVA0402b. Phenotypic character identification and analysis using ITS rDNA regional molecular markers confirmed that four isolates belonged to Penicillium , while one isolate remained unidentified at the genus level but was considered as Ascomycota . Among the five selected isolates, PIIIB0402b and PIVB0402a showed the most potential to be developed as biocontrol agents, with mortality rates of 77.5% and 67.0%, respectively. However, further research is required to assess the efficacy and feasibility of these antagonistic fungus isolates as a biocontrol method for Pratylenchus nematodes on coffee plants.