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Eco-friendly and sustainable plant disease management employing Trichoderma spp. as bioagents is an economically feasible and ecologically sustainable approach. Therefore, their use in agriculture should be encouraged. The two main goals of the present study were to evaluate the abilities of two Trichoderma isolates to prevent Fusarium wilt disease, which is caused by Fusarium solani, in vitro and under greenhouse conditions, as well as their potential as biofertilizers to enhance cherry tomato growth and development. The results of a dual culture test revealed that T. viride and T. harzianum are antagonistic against the F. solani pathogen. The antagonism mechanisms include competition for nutrients and space, mycoparasitism, and antibiosis, according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) findings. Additionally, T. harzianum reduced the mycelial growth of F. solani by 78.0%, whereas T. viride inhibited the growth by 61.2%, 10 days post-inoculation. In a greenhouse experiment, cherry tomato plants treated with each of these antagonistic Trichoderma isolates separately or in combination significantly suppressed Fusarium wilt disease, improved plant growth parameters, increased macro- and micronutrients uptake, and increased the content of photosynthetic pigments and total phenols. In conclusion, effective applications of Trichoderma isolates have the potential to mitigate Fusarium wilt disease, which is caused by F. solani in cherry tomato plants, while simultaneously promoting the growth and development of cherry tomatoes.

Plants are challenged with many kinds of biotic stresses caused by different living organisms, which result in various types of diseases, infections, and damage to crop plants and ultimately affect crop productivity. Plant disease management strategies based on current approaches are necessary for sustainable agriculture. A pot experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions to evaluate the potential of green synthesized silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) and antagonistic yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) against pepper bacterial leaf spot disease, caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria. In addition, to assess their efficacy and suppressive effects in reducing disease severity and improving sweet pepper growth, productivity, and quality. Results revealed that the combination of BCA (5%) and SiO2-NPs (150 ppm) was the most effective treatment for reducing disease severity and improving vegetative growth characters, mineral contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Si in leaves), as well as stimulating polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity of sweet pepper leaves at 90 days from transplanting, while also at harvesting time enhancing sweet pepper fruit yield quality parameters significantly. In conclusion, green synthesized silica nanoparticles combined with antagonistic yeast have the potential to suppress a bacterial leaf spot disease with ecologically-sound management, while also boosting sweet pepper growth, productivity, and quality.

In agro-ecosystems, Trichoderma species are beneficial microorganisms that improve soil health and crop development. They form mutualistic endophytic relationships with a wide range of plant species, promoting host growth, protecting against pathogen attack, and improving micro-and macronutrient uptake and use efficiency. As a result, they should be promoted because they have the potential to improve agricultural sustainability while reducing the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture. This review provides an overview of the current and potential applications of Trichoderma species for sustainable agriculture, their beneficial roles and how they can be used to boost plant growth and crop yield.

Microbialbiocontrol agents against Rhizoctonia solani (Rh), the causal agent of potato black scurf disease investigated. Endophyte Bacillus subtilis (Bac1 and Bac2), the fungal bioagents Trichoderma album, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of R. solani using the dual culture technique. Four isolates of R. solani from infected potato tubers were collected from different areas in Alexandria and Behira governorates. All fungal isolates were identified by microscopy and confirmed with distinct morphologies. Molecular identification, DNA isolation, and ITS amplification were carried out on the tested R. solani isolates. The pathogenicity test of the R. solani isolates approved their ability to inhibit radish seeds germination on the water agar media compared to the control treatment in which the % of seed germination was 100%. Pathogenicity on potato plants also confirmed the isolates' potential. Isolate R. solani (Rh1) outperformed the others in terms of pathogenicity, severity on Cara and Spunta cultivars were 87.5% and 81.25%, respectively. As well, the Rh1 isolate exceeds the other isolates in increasing the colored area of potato leaves of the Cara cultivar. Co-culturing B. subtilis and R. solani isolate on PDA resulted in high inhibition rates for all isolates. T. album exhibited inhibition of all R. solani isolates tested on PDA at the rate of 2 according to the scale of Bell et. al., 1982. Scanning electron micrographs showed that T. album hyphae aggregated, penetrated, and deformed the hyphae of R. solani. S. cerevisiae was demonstrated to inhibit all isolates of R. solani on PDA medium when compared to the control treatment, which had a rate of inhibition of 0.00%. Thus, the current study demonstrated the efficacy of endophytes B. subtilis, T. album, and S. cerevisiae in limiting R. solani growth in vitro.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Bipolaris oryzae, the causal agent of brown spot disease on Egyptian rice cultivars. Sample of rice were collected from 10 cultivars namely (