Plant Growth Promotion and Biocontrol of Pythium ultimum by Saline Tolerant Trichoderma Isolates under Salinity Stress

Brenda Sánchez-Montesinos, Fernando Diánez, Alejandro Moreno-Gavira, Francisco J. Gea and Mila Santos
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Brenda Sánchez-Montesinos: Departamento de Agronomía, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Fernando Diánez: Departamento de Agronomía, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Alejandro Moreno-Gavira: Departamento de Agronomía, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Francisco J. Gea: Centro de Investigación, Experimentación y Servicios del Champiñón (CIES), Quintanar del Rey, 16220 Cuenca, Spain
Mila Santos: Departamento de Agronomía, Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: This present study evaluates three isolates of Trichoderma as plant growth promoting or biological control agents: Trichoderma aggressivum f. sp. europaeum , Trichoderma saturnisporum , and the marine isolate obtained from Posidonia oceanica , Trichoderma longibrachiatum . The purpose is to contribute to an overall reduction in pesticide residues in the fruit and the environment and to a decrease in chemical fertilizers, the excess of which aggravates one of the most serious abiotic stresses, salinity. The tolerance of the different isolates to increasing concentrations of sodium chloride was evaluated in vitro, as well as their antagonistic capacity against Pythium ultimum . The plant growth promoting capacity and effects of Trichoderma strains on the severity of P. ultimum on melon seedlings under saline conditions were also analysed. The results reveal that the three isolates of Trichoderma , regardless of their origin, alleviate the stress produced by salinity, resulting in larger plants with an air-dry weight percentage above 80% in saline stress conditions for T. longibrachiatum , or an increase in root-dry weight close to 50% when T. aggressivum f. sp. europaeum was applied. Likewise, the three isolates showed antagonistic activity against P. ultimum , reducing the incidence of the disease, with the highest response found for T. longibrachiatum . Biological control of P. ultimum by T. aggressivum f. sp. europaeum and T. saturnisporum is reported for the first time, reducing disease severity by 62.96% and 51.85%, respectively. This is the first description of T. aggressivum f. sp. europaeum as a biological control agent and growth promoter. The application of these isolates can be of enormous benefit to horticultural crops, in both seedbeds and greenhouses.

Keywords: Pythium ultimum; salt tolerance; Trichoderma; biological control; stress abiotic and biotic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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