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Disease Control and Pest Management

Biological Control of Rhizoctonia solani Damping-Off with Wheat Bran Culture of Trichoderma harzianum. Y. Hadar, Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel; I. Chet(2), and Y. Henis(3). (2)(3)Associate Professor, and Professor, respectively, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. Phytopathology 69:64-68. Accepted for publication 16 May 1978. Copyright 1979 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-69-64.

An isolate of Trichoderma harzianum directly attacked the mycelium of Rhizoctonia solani when the two fungi were grown together on a glucose plus minerals medium. No antibiotic activity of T. harzianum towards the pathogen could be detected. When grown on a mineral medium containing laminarin or chitin as carbon sources, T. harzianum produced the enzymes β-(1-3) glucanase and chitinase. In the greenhouse, T. harzianum, applied in the form of wheat bran culture to R. solani-infested soil, effectively controlled damping-off of bean, tomato, and eggplant seedlings. Low concentrations of PCNB, ineffective alone, improved disease control when applied together with T. harzianum.