<p><em>Colletotrichum leaf fall disease caused by </em>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides<em> is an important disease in rubber plants. The </em>C. gloeosporioides<strong><em> </em></strong><em>Infection can reduce production by 7%-45%. Controlling the pathogen using endophytic fungi is very promising because it can suppress inoculum and pathogen colonization, induce plant resistance, and trigger plant growth. The study aimed to evaluate the endophytic fungus isolate from rubber to control </em>C. gloeosporioides<strong><em> </em></strong><em>as a pathogen that caused the rubber leaf fall disease. This research was carried out in the laboratory and greenhouse of the Indonesian Industrial and Beverage Crop Research Institute (IIBCRI), Sukabumi, from March to November 2018. The isolates used were endophytic fungi isolates from rubber plants, which were tested for their inhibition against </em>C. gloeosporioides<em> in vitro on rubber leaves and seedlings, and their mechanism. The variable observed were the inhibition rate, incubation periods, number of spots, disease severity, and plant growth. The results showed that the endophytic fungus could inhibit the growth of </em>C. gloeosporioides<em> about 64.17% - 86.67%. The high inhibitory activity (>80%) in isolates CEPR.19, CEPR.6, CEBPM.21, DTJE.1, and DMJE27 were 86.67%; 83.33%; 83.33%; 82.92%, and 82.50%, respectively. The observations on seedlings obtained three potential fungal isolates to control </em>C. gloeosporioides<em> on rubber leaves, namely CEBPM.21, CEPR19, and DTJE.1 with suppression of disease severity about 68.57%; 67.88%, and 60.20% with their mechanisms of action inducing resistance, antibiosis, competition, and hyperparasites.</em><em></em></p>
Induction of Cryptic and Bioactive Metabolites through Natural Dietary Components in an Endophytic Fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc.