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Increased effectiveness of the Trichoderma harzianum isolate T‐78 against Fusarium wilt on melon plants under nursery conditions
Author(s) -
BernalVicente Agustina,
Ros Margarita,
Pascual Jose Antonio
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.3520
Subject(s) - trichoderma harzianum , fusarium oxysporum , melon , fusarium wilt , population , biology , horticulture , bran , trichoderma , vermiculite , bentonite , spore , biological pest control , agronomy , botany , raw material , ecology , paleontology , demography , sociology
BACKGROUND: The use of isolates of the genus Trichoderma to control Fusarium wilt in melon plants is one of the most recent and effective alternatives to chemical treatments. In this work we have studied the immobilization of the isolate Trichoderma harzianum T‐78 on different carriers as an efficient method to control vascular Fusarium wilt of melon in nurseries. Different formulations were developed: liquids (spore suspension, guar gum and carboxymethylcellulose) and solids (bentonite, vermiculite and wheat bran). RESULTS: The introduction of F. oxysporum resulted in a significant decrease in seedling fresh weight. The treatments which gave a lesser reduction in weight and showing a greater biocontrol effect were the liquid conidial suspension and the solid treatments with bentonite and superficial vermiculite. Microbiological analyses revealed that the conidial suspension and all the solid treatments, except wheat bran, significantly decreased F. oxysporum populations. Of all the treatments assayed, bentonite produced the greatest decline in the F. oxysporum population. CONCLUSIONS: The most effective treatments against Fusarium wilt on melon plants were the solid treatments bentonite and superficial vermiculite. These two treatments gave the greatest plant weight, the lowest percentage of infected plants and the greatest T. harzianum population throughout the assay. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry