Trichoderma strains as growth promoters in Capsicum annuum and as biocontrol agents in Meloidogyne incognita

Abstract

The Trichoderma species act as plant symbionts, decomposers of organic material, and as antagonists of root phytoparasites. To estimate the potential of four native strains of Trichoderma as growth promoters of Capsicum annuum L. and as biocontrol against root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood, two bioassays in greenhouse were established. In one, the capacity of Trichoderma to promote initial growth of seedlings (36 d after planting, dap) was evaluated. In the other, the biocontrol of Trichoderma against M. incognita at 96 dap was also evaluated. The Trichoderma strains and the chemical fertilization treatment significantly promoted seedling growth at 36 dap (P ≤ 0.01). With respect to the control, T. atroviride promoted greater height in the seedlings, while T. atroviride, T. virens and T. harzianum-C2 increased fresh weight in roots (60.14%) and both T. atroviride and T. harzianum-C2 produced up to 82.30% more dry root biomass. In biocontrol, the control plants registered the highest damage with galling indexes of 85.50% (P ≤ 0.01). The lowest galling indexes were estimated with all the Trichoderma strains (21.60% to 35%). Trichoderma atroviride reduced egg production by 63% and the production of females by 14.36%, with respect to the oxamyl nematicide. Biocontrol of the nematode through the application of the Trichoderma strains favored growth of the plants in general. The fungal species studied show potential as growth promoting agents and as biocontrol agents M. incognita in C. annuum.

Plant performance of enhancing licorice with dual inoculating dark septate endophytes and Trichoderma viride mediated via effects on root development

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Antagonistic activity of Trichoderma asperellum and Trichoderma harzianum against genetically diverse Botrytis cinerea isolates

“…Trichoderma species have been identified as potential biocontrol agents of many plant pathogenic fungi (Herrera-Parra et al, 2017). Trichoderma harzianum is one of the most studied members within this genus as biological control agent against an array of plant pathogenic fungi, including B. cinerea (Cheng et al, 2012;Bendahmane et al, 2012).…”

Recent Advances in the Development of Environmentally Benign Treatments to Control Root-Knot Nematodes

“…The same concentrations of the fungus significantly reduced M. incognita infection in cucumber and improved plant growth in the greenhouse. Trichoderma strains have also been proven effective both as plant growth promoter and M. incognita control agent on pepper ( Herrera-Parra et al., 2017 ). Approximately, 22 to 35% reductions in galling index were reported in pots treated with T. atroviride , T. virens , and T. harzianum -C2.…”