*2.5. In Vitro Screening of Plant Growth-Promoting Fungi (PGPF) Strains of Trichoderma spp. for Its Antibacterial Activity by Agar Plug Method against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo)*

The mycelial disc of *Trichoderma* spp. fungi isolated from rhizosphere soil was screened for its antibacterial activity against plant pathogenic bacterial strain *Xanthomonas oryzae* pv. *oryzae* (Xoo) isolated from the infected leaf parts of rice. The different Plant Growth-Promoting Fungi (PGPF) strains of *Trichoderma* spp. were grown on a PDA petri plate for 5–7 days at 24 ± 2 ◦C with alternate light and dark periods. From seven-day-old, culture the fungal discs were pierced using a sterile cork borer of 5 mm in diameter. The fungal discs were transferred to a Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) plate which was previously swabbed with the bacteria Xoo. The MHA plates were kept for incubation at 28 ◦C for 24 h and after incubation, the results were observed [40].
