Biocontrol of Wood Decay by Trichoderma spp. – Retrospect and Prospect

A resurgence of interest in biological control of wood decay fungi due to recent revelations of its beneficial effects in protective wooden structures against decay fungi is in enormous increase. This has also been due, in large part, to increase public awareness and concern over the environmental impact of currently used chemical wood preservatives. Mechanisms of control, which have been attributed to Trichoderma spp., can be categorised into the following four types: competition for nutrients, production of inhibitory soluble metabolites, production of inhibitory volatiles and non-volatiles and mycoparasitism involving the production of lytic enzymes. Trichoderma spp. have been reported to produce siderophores, an iron chelating compounds. All the mechanisms of control of wood decay fungi have been discussed in the present review