ACADEMIA Letters

Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp

strains. as an alternative for sustainable production.
Some trials with good results in Argentina.
Cecilia Mónaco, Centro de Investigaciones en Fitopatologia (CIDEFI). Facultad de
Ciencias Agr. Y Ftales. UNLP. La Plata. (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp strains. as an alternative for sus-

tainable production. Some trials with good results in Argentina.
Cecilia Mónaco
Centro de Investigaciones en Fitopatologia (CIDEFI). Facultad de Ciencias Agr. Y Ftales.
UNLP. La Plata. Buenos Aires. Argentina. [email protected]
Within sustainable agriculture, biological control through the use of antagonistic microor-
ganisms has become very relevant in recent years. This alternative has the advantage of being
specific and without risks to the environment. It includes the use of beneficial microorgan-
isms which attack and control plant pathogens and the diseases they cause. Fungal species
of the genus Trichoderma have been investigated as biological control agents for more than
70 years. These species are free-living, ubiquitous fungi that interact in the roots, soil and
leaf environment, which act as biological control agents and whose antagonistic properties
are based on the activation of very diverse mechanisms.
Species of the genus Trichoderma are considered promising agents for biological control,
because they act on a wide variety of pathogenic fungi. Within a family farming, the use of a
low-cost production formula is proposed. In this sense, a bioproduct in the form of wettable
powder was evaluated, to observe the effect of its incorporation into the soil in the planting line,
and evaluate its concentration and permanence in the soil. To obtain the powder, tindalized
rice grains were inoculated with a suspension of T. harzianum spores. Once colonized, it was
left to dry under sterile airflow for 5 days and crushed with a coffee grinder. Once the powder

Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Cecilia Mónaco, [email protected]

Citation: Mónaco, C. (2021). Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp strains. as an alternative
for sustainable production. Some trials with good results in Argentina. Academia Letters, Article 4342.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4342.
1
was obtained, two concentrations were prepared, 1 g in 1 L of water and 3 g in 1 L of water.
The experimental design was random blocks. Each plot was of 1 x 1 m. During planting the
bioproduct was incorporated into the soil with a manual spray of 5 L in continuous agitation.
At 30 and 60 days, the cfu/g of soil was evaluated for each concentration. The results obtained
indicate that there were significant differences in the population of T. harzianum according to
the concentration of the bioproduct and over the evaluation time. Although at 60 days the
population of T. harzianum decreased, it was always higher in the concentration of 3 g of
wettable powder /L of water. According to these results, it is recommended to use the highest
concentration and perform an application as a reinforce at 60 days.
T.harzianum has the ability to stimulate the growth and development of plant roots, which
translates into an increased productivity. In concordance with this, the effect of two strains
of T. harzianum (5cc and 118) isolated from soils cultivated with different species, wheat and
tomato respectively, on the yield of a cultivar of tomato var. “platense” produced in green-
house was studied. For this, the strains of the antagonist were applied at the time of planting
with two methods, one solid and one liquid formulation, comparing them with control plants.
For the first one, a mixture of sand, wheat bran and water in equal parts was prepared and
sterilized twice consecutively. Subsequently, the biocontroller strains were inoculated on that
mixture. Once colonized by the Trichoderma strains, 10% of this mixture was added to the
germination substrate. For the second method, a suspension of T. harzianum spores of 1 x 107
was prepared for each strain. During sowing, 5 ml of these suspensions were added to each
cell of the seedlings. After 30 days the seedlings were transplanted into a commercial green-
house. The experimental design was 3 blocks at random with 5 treatments and 10 repetitions.
The results were statistically analyzed using non-parametric ANOVA (Friedman). Strain 118
presented the highest yields, highlighting the treatment with the liquid application. (Stocco
et al., 2019)
To evaluate the effect of Trichoderma spp strains. on the development and growth in
laboratory of colonies of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm. strains of
Trichoderma spp. were obtained from soil samples from the tomato crop of the Horticultural
Area of La Plata city using the serial dilution technique. In the laboratory, their ability to
suppress and inhibit the growth of Cmm was evaluated, finding that all of them suppressed
growth in culture medium between 14 and 16%. Under greenhouses conditions, the effect
of Trichoderma spp strains was evaluated. applied on tomato seedlings susceptible to the
pathogen fifteen days old by two methods of application: (1) to the soil during transplantation
and (2) foliar three days before inoculation with the pathogen. Ten days after transplantation,
the pathogen was inoculated by atomizing a bacterial suspension with a concentration of ap-
proximately 1 x 107 cfu//ml. Five weeks after transplantation, the following were evaluated:

Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Cecilia Mónaco, [email protected]

Citation: Mónaco, C. (2021). Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp strains. as an alternative
for sustainable production. Some trials with good results in Argentina. Academia Letters, Article 4342.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4342.
2
height of plants, number of flowers and fruits, finding statistical differences between the plants
treated with Trichoderma spp and the control plants . Eight weeks after transplantation, the
presence of the disease was evaluated according to the symptomatology. Approximately half
of the plants in the control presented symptoms associated with the disease: dry leaflet edges,
stunted growth and generalized mild wilting. The two applications methods were effective.
Strains of Trichoderma spp. caused a positive effect on plants those that presented less disease
and greater vegetative development. (Guerrero et al., 2017 a and b: Rolleri et al., 2021)
The biocontroller effect of Trichoderma species on wheat foliar diseases was also studied.
In this context, the expression of the diseases was evaluated through the reduction of the
incidence and severity. Also, the decrease of the area under diseases curve progress and the
increase in the yield in different wheat crops, phenological stages and moments and forms
of application of the antagonists (foliar spraying and “pelleting” of the seed) were evaluated.
The mycoparasitic effect on different pathogens was demonstrated. In addition, the elicitor
effect of Trichoderma species on the wheat defense system against Zimoseptoria tritici was
studied. (Cordo et al., 2020)
These results demonstrate the ability of Trichoderma sp. to be used as a biocontrol agent
and thus reduce the effect of agrochemicals and raise awareness among producers to carry out
more beneficial actions for the environment.

References
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(Pag 230-243), b).

Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Cecilia Mónaco, [email protected]

Citation: Mónaco, C. (2021). Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp strains. as an alternative
for sustainable production. Some trials with good results in Argentina. Academia Letters, Article 4342.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4342.
3
Rolleri, Jorgelina .; Stocco, Marina ; Moya, Paulina y Cecilia Mónaco Posibilidades del uso
de Trichoderma harzianum en el biocontrol del marchitamiento y cancro bacteriano del
tomate. 2021. Revista de La Facultad de Agronomia 120 (2): 1-10.

Stocco. Marina; Gladys Lampugnani; María Soledad Zuluaga; Cecilia Abramoff; Cristina
Cordo; Cecilia Inés Mónaco Fungicida biológico a base de una cepa del hongo Tricho-
derma harzianum: su supervivencia en el suelo. 2019.. Revista de la Facultad de Agronomía.
Vol 118 ( 2): 1-10.

Academia Letters, December 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Cecilia Mónaco, [email protected]

Citation: Mónaco, C. (2021). Biocontrol of fungal plant diseases by Trichoderma sp strains. as an alternative
for sustainable production. Some trials with good results in Argentina. Academia Letters, Article 4342.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4342.
4