One for the fungus

An agronomy student, Ruddy Nina, successfully defended his research project yesterday. Coffee seedlings sometimes suffer from damping off, a fungal disease that attacks the roots and stems. One organic way to treat this disease is by applying another fungus that prevents the disease. Ruddy looked at how the biological control fungus Trichoderma affects fungi that cause damping off, and noted that in the laboratory, Trichoderma can reduce the growth of the pathogen by 60%. Call that one for the fungus, and one for the UAC, as the agronomy department gradutes its 47th student. Way to go, Ruddy.