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Specifics trains of Trichoderma species have been commercially applied as biocontrol agents against several plant pathogenic fungi due to their production of antifungal metabolites, competition for nutrients and space, and mycoparasitism. The main aim of this study was to identify the specific potential of Trichoderma strains from an oil palm plantation in Lahad Datu for the application in the biocomposting of oil palm empty fruit bunches. This compost able to enhanced plant growth performance and also produced high yield production. Generally, compost is not only a good biofertilizer but also a good biocontrol agent against soil-borne pathogens. Isolation of Trichoderma species from soil was done using dilution technique. A total of 138 colonies of fungus found, and only 97 isolates were physically identified as Trichoderma species. Apart from that, only 52 Trichoderma isolates were further identified based on the morphological characteristics and molecular data analysis. From the results, all 52 isolates were belong to eight Trichoderma species namely Trichoderma asperel/um, T. harzianum, T. koningiopsis, T. hamatum, T. theobromicola, T. erinaceum, T. viride and Hypocream e/anomagnaN. ext, the lignocellulolytica ctivitieso f all isolates were studied based on their ability to degrade cellulose, lignin and starch and the best potential strains were selected as the decomposers. Strains 2H, 5D and 1012 were found to give the largest halo zone in the order of 4.40 ± 0.46 cm for cellulose, 4.93 ± 0.06 cm for lignin and 7.47 ± 0.15 cm for starch, respectively. Based on these results, two strains (11B and SICCI) were selected for the composting of oil palm fibre. Over the four weeks of the composting period, analysis of pH of the compost was found to be slightly alkaline at the earlier stage and slowly become acidic. The temperature recorded was almost the same being the 24°C during the laboratory assay. Field experiments were done to test the effectiveness of the compos

Trichoderma species have the potential for application in composting as biological control agents in controlling disease and increasing yield of production in the agricultural industry. The prevalent soil fungus of Trichoderma produces lignocellulolytic enzymes that assist the degradation of woody lignocellulose materials. The aim of the experimental work was to check the potential of lignocellulolytic Trichoderma fungi for the use of rapid composting of oil palm empty fruit bunches fibers. Fifty-two of Trichoderma isolates from Sabah and seven isolates from Antarctic were examined for in-vitro lignocellulolytic activity by assaying their ability to develop dark brown pigments, yellow halo zone, and clear white zone on tannic acid media (TAM) for lignin; Jensen Media (JM) for cellulose; and modified Melin-Nokrans media (MMNM) for starch. The best six Sabah Trichoderma isolates (5D, 10L2, 10P, 5E, 10X, and 10E2) were found to be potential lignocellulolytic agents based on their diameter of halo zone formed on amended media for further testing of in vitro bioconversion of oil palm empty fruit bunches. The diameters of halo zones were measured for the analysis of their ability in degrading lignin, cellulose, and starch. In contrast, Antarctic Trichoderma isolates consistently exhibited lower lignocellulolytic activities based on their smaller diameter of halo zone formed on TAM, JM, and MMNM. Most of the Trichoderma isolates are found to synthesize polyphenol oxidase, endoglucanases, and are able to hydrolyze starch to glucose in the three different media. Thus, the finding shows the potential of these isolates for use in large-scale composting of oil palm empty fruit bunches.