Evaluation of the herbicidal potential of some fungal species against Bidens pilosa, the coffee farming weeds

Abstract

Weeds are the most productive limiting factor, especially in organic farming systems where the uses of synthetic herbicides are not allowed due to their negative impacts. Hence, synthetic herbicides need to be replaced with biological herbicides for weed management. Thus, the present study was designed to evaluate the herbicidal activity of conidia suspensions from Aspergillus niger , Trichoderma asperlium , Trichoderma atroviride , Trichoderma hamatum , Trichoderma harzanium , Trichoderma longibrachatum and Trichoderma viride against Bidens pilosa weed via a series of laboratory and lath-house conditions that laid out in a CRD and RCBD, respectively, with three replications for each bioassay. The results revealed that all fungi, except T. longibrachatum , had significantly reduced seed germination as well as early growth of the target weed compared to the untreated control. The inhibitory effects were measured to be varied among the types of conidia suspensions of fungal species and their level of concentration. The highest rate of inhibition was observed for conidia suspension from A. niger which suppressed with the maximum seed germination inhibitory level (65%) over control. Likewise, the plumule and radicle growth length of the target weed also significantly inhibited by the tested fungi (ranging from 10 to 85% and 34 to 97%) compared to the control, respectively. Based on their efficacy in the laboratory bioassay, the herbicidal potential of selected fungi was further evaluated in pot experiments. In contrarily to laboratory observations, the effect of different fungal conidia suspensions on various growth parameters of the targeted weed was insignificant in the lath-house experiments. In conclusion, the application of A. niger displayed some potential green light to be investigated as a biocontrol agent with promising retarding in the germination and early growth of B. pilosa . Hence, we recommend further investigation of those fungi under field conditions on different coffee weed species.

Exploring Genomics and Microbial Ecology: Analysis of Bidens pilosa L. Genetic Structure and Soil Microbiome Diversity by RAD-Seq and Metabarcoding

“…This study expands the understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of B. pilosa , a species identified as a weed [ 21 ], with various food uses and in traditional medicine [ 2 , 22 ]. Although its role in phytoremediation, especially in the absorption of cadmium [ 10 , 22 ], and its therapeutic potential are well documented [ 7 ], detailed genomic research is scarce.…”

Nature-Based Herbicides and Micro-/Nanotechnology Fostering Sustainable Agriculture

“…are well-studied for bioherbicide development. Among fungi, the most studied are Trichoderma ssp, − Aspergillus ssp, Fusarium ssp, − and Phoma ssp. ,, Table lists the different bioherbicides prepared using microbial culture filtrates against various weeds.…”

Trichoderma hamatum and Its Benefits

“…One study revealed that conidial suspensions of Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, T. asperellum, T. atroviride, T. hamatum, THSC, and T. viride possess herbicidal activity. These conidia affect seed germination and the early growth of the target weed Bidens pilosa L.1753 when compared to untreated plants [75] (Table 1). T. inhamatum can potentially be used as a biological decomposer of glyphosate in soils where large amounts of glyphosate-containing nonselective herbicides have been used [76].…”