Effect of application methods of Trichoderma asperellum on the control of white mold disease (Sclerotium rolfsii) of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum MILL)

Abstract

A greenhouse study at the Federal University of Technology, Akure's screen house and laboratory of the Department of Crop, Soil, and Pest Management assessed the effectiveness of Trichoderma asperellum under three application methods on growth and control of a tomato white mold disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. Dual culture techniques under the prophylactic method recorded 60% inhibition of the mycelia growth of S. rolfsii when T. asperellum was inoculated twenty-four hours before the introduction of S. rolfsii. This was much greater than the 20% mycelial inhibition reported by curative and simultaneous application methods, in which S. rolfsii was introduced first and concurrently with the 5 pathogenic fungus. Trichoderma asperellum at 10 spores/ml was tested as a seed treatment agent, prophylactic, and curative (Foliar) application in relation to application time. Seeds moistened with T. asperellum for five days were transferred into a plastic experiment pot filled with sterilized soil as a seed treatment, whereas the prophylactic method involved foliar application of T. asperellum on healthy tomato seedlings for two weeks, followed by covering the experimental pots with transparent polythene for twenty-four hours before the introduction of S. rolfsii suspension. The curative application involved the initial application of S. rolfsii suspension on soil containing two weeks of healthy tomato seedlings and then covered with transparent polythene for twenty-four hours before the introduction of T. asperellum on the soil surface. The results show that tomato yield increased significantly with seed treatment, while prophylactic application had the greatest antifungal effects with the lowest incidence and severity values.