ASRBC has been doing various tests for both research and commercial purposes. We also test various bio-control agents to find out the authenticity and the working principles of the products. Likewise, the antimicrobial effects of the Agrostar as a bio-control agent was found out in the lab. The overall report on the whole process is given in brief.Agrostar is an organic composition comprising of botanical extracts that is supposed to be a cidal agent against bacteria and fungi. In order to test the antimicrobial effect of this chemical, an experiment was conducted at the Plant Pathology Laboratory of Advanced Seed Research and Biotech Centre (ASRBC), ACI LTD. Followed by “poisoned food method” Fusarium oxysporum was chosen as the pathogen which is a well-known plant pathogenic fungi for the disease “Fusarium wilt” in a variety of crops. Potato Dextrose Agar media was prepared according to the instructions on the manual. In order to prepare PDA media with desired Agrostar supplement, it was added after autoclaving of the media and brought up to the final concentration (1%, 2%, and 3%) when the temperature of the media reduced to 45-50°C. A control PDA media was also prepared that was totally devoid of Agrostar. A 5 mm X 5 mm disk of mycelia was cut from previously cultured Fusarium oxysporum and placed on the center of the media and incubated at 27°C in dark. After 7 days of incubation, the growth of the fungal colony was observed in case of control and media supplemented with 1%, 2% and 3% of agrostar. No significant inhibition was observed on the growth of F. oxysporumin on control and media supplemented with agrostar. Moreover, bacterial growth was observed on the media containing Agrostar, in contrast, there was no bacterial growth on the control media.As inhibition on the growth of the F. oxysporum was observed, it can be concluded that there is no cidal effect of Agrostar on F. oxysporum. Moreover, the media supplemented with Agrostar showed bacterial growth, that is, Agrostar solution itself is contaminated with bacteria. The whole test was conducted and analyzed by, Dr. ASM Nahiyan, Senior Scientist, ASRBC, ACI LTD.

Prepared by
Aqief Afzal
Research Assistant, ASRBC, ACI LTD.