Modelling the growth of Trichoderma virens with limited sampling of digital images

Aims: Using limited digital image sampling, a model of fungal growth in soil that considers both hyphal production and lysis was constructed for two strains of Trichoderma virens over a range of four temperatures. Materials and Methods: A growth model was developed by fitting the radial cross sectional data with a modified form of the Ratkowsky equation to determine maximum growth rate and a modified Arrhenius equation to determine maximal rate of decrease in area covered by mycelia. The parameters obtained from a combined equation were then verified by using the data obtained from the whole colony to determine the appropriateness of the model. Conclusions: Using a limited data set and a combination of the Ratkowsky and Arrhenius equations, the mycelial coverage of the T. virens colony was determined, relating microscopic hyphal growth to macroscopic colony growth. This model was sufficiently robust to predict growth across four temperatures for a genetically modified and wild-type strain of T. virens. Significance and Impact of Study: By using simple assumptions for the increase and eventual decline in fungal growth on a resource-limited medium, this model constructs an initial framework onto which additional parameters such as nutrient consumption could be incorporated for prediction of fungal growth.