In vitro studies were undertaken to investigate the effect of chitosan on growth of Leptographium procerum, Sphaeropsis sapinea and Trichoderma harzianum. Chitosan was tested at three molecular weight (MW) ranges and different concentrations formulated as either a powdered suspension or as a solution. The results generally showed that low MW chitosan produced a greater inhibitory effect on growth of test fungi than medium and high MW, irrespective of the chitosan formulation used. However, chitosan was more effective when applied in solution with much lower concentrations exerting inhibition of test fungi than chitosan suspensions. Furthermore, susceptibility of test fungi to chitosan differed, with T. harzianum being the most tolerant and S. sapinea the most sensitive species irrespective of chitosan formulation used.

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