Trichoderma as a biocontrol agent for damping-off and its impact on cucumber biochemical alterations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2531-7342/21066Keywords:
T. afroharzianum, T. asperellum, Seed dressing, defense-related enzymesAbstract
Cucumber plants are vulnerable to soil-borne fungal diseases. Fungicides control cucumber diseases but pose health risks from pesticide residues. Native bio agent strains suppressing plant pathogens while promoting plant growth and maintaining soil health.This study aimed to isolate and identify indigenous Trichoderma species and evaluate their efficacy as cucumber seed dressings for controlling damping-off caused by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Sclerotium rolfsii. Trichoderma afroharzianum demonstrated the highest radial growth inhibition (81.3%) against M. phaseolina, while T. asperellum showed 75.0% inhibition against F. solani. Seed dressing with these bio-agents significantly reduced damping-off incidence, increased plant survival, and enhanced the accumulation of phenolic compounds, including total phenols. It also boosted peroxidase, polyphenoloxidase, and carboxymethyl cellulase activities. Furthermore, T. afroharzianum improved chlorophyll and carotenoid levels, promoting photosynthesis and disease resistance. The two Trichoderma species exhibit potential as novel biocontrol agents with antifungal and plant growth-promoting properties.
References
Abdel-Kader MM, El-Mougy NS, Aly MDE, Lashin SM (2012) Different approaches of bio-control agents for controlling root rot incidence of some vegetables under greenhouse conditions. International Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 2(1):115-127. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.ijaf.20120201.18
Ahmed GA, Zyton MA (2016) Promoting resistance of snap bean against damping-off disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani using the integration between some antioxidants and bioagents. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 26(4):767‒774.
Al-Fadhal FA, Al-Abedy AN, Alkhafije DA (2019) Isolation and molecular identification of Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani isolated from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and their control feasibility by Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis. The Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 29:47. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-019-0145-5
Ali AM (2021) The competitive potential of different Trichoderma spp. to control Rhizoctonia root-rot disease of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Egyptian Journal of Phytopathology 49(1):136‒150. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejp.2021.73456.1030
Ali MI, Yasser MM, Mousa AS, Khalek MA (2012) Optimization of factors affecting proliferation and flourishment of Trichoderma harzianum in Egyptian soil. Journal of Basic and Applied Mycology 3:41‒48.
Aluko R, Ogbadu GH (1986) Analysis of eggplant varieties for enzymes related to their organoleptic properties. Tropical Science 26:163‒171.
Arnnok P, Ruangviriyachai C, Mahachai R, Techawongstien S, Chanthai S (2010) Optimization and determination of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activites in hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Pericarb. International Food Research Journal 17:385‒392. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:28288765
Asghar W, Kelly D C, Kataoka R, Mahmood A, Asghar N, Raza T, Iftikhar F (2024) The application of Trichoderma spp., an old but new useful fungus, in sustainable soil health intensification: a comprehensive strategy for addressing challenges. Plant Stress 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2024.100455
Awad-Allah EFA, Shams AHM, Helaly AA, Ragheb EIM (2022) Effective applications of Trichoderma spp. as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents mitigate tomato Fusarium wilt disease. Agriculture 12(11):1950. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111950
Booth C (1971) The genus Fusarium. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, 237.
Bouanaka H, Bellil I, Harrat W, Boussaha S, Benbelkacem A, Khelifi D (2021) On the biocontrol by Trichoderma afroharzianum against Fusarium culmorum responsible of Fusarium head blight and crown rot of wheat in Algeria. The Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 31:68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-021-00416-3
Cai F, Dou K, Wang P, Chenthamara K, Chen J, Druzhinina IS (2022) The current state of Trichoderma taxonomy and species identification. In: Advances in Trichoderma Biology for Agricultural Applications (Amaresan N, Sankaranarayanan A, Dwivedi MK, Druzhinina IS, eds), Fungal Biology. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 3‒35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91650-3_1
Chance B, Maehly AC (1955) Assay of catalase and peroxidase. Methods in Enzymology 2:764‒775. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(55)02300-8
Chérif M, Arfaoui A, Rhaiem A (2007) Phenolic compounds and their role in bio-control and resistance of chickpea to fungal pathogenic attacks. Tunisian Journal of Plant Protection 2(1):7‒21.
Daayf F, El-Hadrami A, El‐Bebany AF, Henriquez MA, Yao Z, Derksen H, El-Hadrami I, Adam LR (2012) Phenolic compounds in plant defense and pathogen counter‐defense mechanisms. In: Recent advances in polyphenol research, vol. 3 (Cheynier V, Sarni-Manchado P, Quideau S, eds). Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK, pp. 191‒208. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118299753.ch8
Domsch KH, Gams W, Anderson TH (1980) Compendium of soil fungi, vol. 1‒2, Academic Press, London, UK.
El-Hassan SA, Gowen SR, Pembroke B (2013) Use of Trichoderma hamatum for biocontrol of lentil vascular wilt disease: Efficacy, mechanisms of interaction and future prospects. Journal of Plant Protection Research 53(1):12‒26. https://doi.org/10.2478/jppr-2013-0002
El-Mougy NS, Abdel-Kader MM, Aly MDE, Lashin SM (2012) Application of fungicides alternatives as seed treatment for controlling root rot of some vegetables in pot experiments. Advances in Life Sciences 2(3):57‒64. http://dx.doi.org/10.5923/j.als.20120203.03
El Nahas SEM, Osman EAM, Hassan MEM (2019) Comparative study on effects of chemical fungicides and a biocide on cotton seedling damping-off caused by Rhizoctonia solani. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology 10(4):229‒236. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2019.40934
Elshahawy IE, Marrez DA (2023) Antagonistic activity of Trichoderma asperellum against Fusarium species, chemical profile and their efficacy for management Fusarium-root rot disease in dry bean. Pest Management Science 80(3):1153‒1167. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7846
Falade AO, Mabinya LV, Okoh AI, Nwodo UU (2019) Agrowastes utilization by Raoultella ornithinolytica for optimal extracellular peroxidase activity. Biotechnology and applied biochemistry 66(1):60‒67. https://doi.org/10.1002/bab.1696
Gangwar GP, Sinha AP (2014) Effect of fungal and bacterial bioagent application on total phenolic content in rice leaves pre-inoculated with Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Uyeda and Ishiyama) Dowson. Journal of Applied and Natural Science 6(1):254‒257.
Gilman JC (1957) A manual of soil fungi, II ed. The Iowa State University Press. Ames, Iowa.
Gomaa N, El-Nahas S, Osman E, Hassan M (2016) Use of endophytic bacteria to suppress damping-off of cotton seedlings caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Biotechnology 7(9):241‒248. https://dx.doi.org/10.21608/jacb.2016.41125
Gu DD, Wang WZ, Hu JD, Zhang XM, Wang BS (2016) Nondestructive determination of total chlorophyll content in maize using three-wavelength diffuse reflectance. Journal of Applied Spectroscopy 83:541–547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10812-016-0325-y
Guo H, Yao X, Zhang K, Zhao M, Ruan J, Chen J (2023) Trichoderma and its role in biological control of plant fungal and nematode disease. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1160551. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1160551
Gupta N (2019) DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction. Journal of cytology 36(2):116‒117. https://doi.org/10.4103/joc.joc_110_18
Haque Z, Iqbal MS, Ahmad A, Khan MS, Jyoti P (2020) Molecular characterization of Trichoderma spp. isolates by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequencing technique and its use as a biocontrol agent. The Open Biotechnology Journal 14:70‒77. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1874070702014010070
Harman GE, Howell CR, Viterbo A, Chet I, Lorito M (2004) Trichoderma species-opportunistic, avirulent plant symbionts. Nature Reviews 2:43‒56. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro797
Hassan M, Ahmed H, Kamel S, Abd El-Hamed W, Yousef H (2021) Biological control of damping-off and root rot disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani on cucumber plants. Fayoum Journal of Agricultural Research and Development 35(3):525‒541. https://doi.org/10.21608/fjard.2021.225257
Heflish AA, Abdelkhalek A, Al-Askar AA, Behiry SI (2021) Protective and curative effects of Trichoderma asperelloides ta41 on tomato root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani rs33. Agronomy 11(6):1162. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061162
Hermosa R, Viterbo A, Chet I, Monte E (2012) Plant-beneficial effects of Trichoderma and of its genes. Microbiology 158(1):17‒25. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.052274-0
Hoffmann N, Benske A, Betz H, Schuetz M, Samuels AL (2020) Laccases and peroxidases co-localize in lignified secondary cell walls throughout stem development. Plant Physiology 184(2):806‒822. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.20.00473
Ismaiel MH, Zanaty AM, Abdel-Lateif KS (2022) Molecular and morphological identification of Trichoderma isolates from Egyptian agricultural wastes-rich soil. SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics 54(3):598‒607. http://dx.doi.org/10.54910/sabrao2022.54.3.12
Jukanti A (2017) Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) in plants. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5747-2
Kamel SM, Ismail A, Omara R, Ahmed M (2017) Influence of humate substances and fungicides on the control of onion downy mildew. Egyptian Journal of Phytopathology 45(1):31‒44. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejp.2017.89520
Kaur A, Manpreet K, Yamini T (2024) Insights into biotic stress management by plants using phenolic compounds. In: Plant Phenolics in Biotic Stress Management (Lone R, Khan S, Mohammed Al-Sadi A, eds). Springer, Singapore, pp75‒93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3334-1_3
Kaur M, Sharma P (2021) Recent advances in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 97(1):3–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14620316.2021.1945956
Khaleel AI, Kareem FH, Alwan KF (2020) The efficiency of plant extracts and biological control agents on some pathogens causing damping-off and root rot disease of cucumber. Biopesticides International 16(1):71‒76.
Kulbat K (2016) The role of phenolic compounds in plant resistance. Biotechnology and Food Science 80(2):97‒108. https://doi.org/10.34658/bfs.2016.80.2.97-108
Kumar S, Abedin MM, Singh AK, Das S (2020) Role of phenolic compounds in plant-defensive mechanisms. In: Plant Phenolics in Sustainable Agriculture (Lone R, Shuab R, Kamili A, eds). Springer, Singapore, pp. 517–532. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4890-1_22
Kumari R, Kumar V, Arukha AP, Rabbee MF, Ameen F, Koul B (2024) Screening of the biocontrol efficacy of potent Trichoderma strains against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri and Scelrotium rolfsii causing wilt and collar rot in chickpea. Microorganisms 12(7):1280. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12071280
Lang B, Chen J (2023) Trichoderma harzianum cellulase gene thph2 affects Trichoderma root colonization and induces resistance to southern leaf blight in maize. Journal of Fungi 9(12):1168. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9121168
Lian H, Li R, Ma G, Zhao Z, Zhang T, Li M (2023) The effect of Trichoderma harzianum agents on physiological-biochemical characteristics of cucumber and the control effect against Fusarium wilt. Scientific Reports 13(1):17606. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44296-z
Mahdy AMM, Abd-El-Mageed MH, Abd-El-Latif FM, Diab MMM, Saied NM (2011) Evaluation of hot water soil treatment against cucumber root rot disease under greenhouse conditions. Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Sciences 7(2):212‒222.
Mahmoud E, Omar A, Hemida N, Hassan G (2023) Isolation and characterization of cellulase overproducing mutants of Trichoderma harzianum. Labyrinth: Fayoum Journal of Science and Interdisciplinary Studies 1(1):48‒58. https://doi.org/10.21608/ifjsis.2023.301865
Mazrou YSA, Makhlouf AH, Elseehy MM, Awad MF, Hassan MM (2020) Antagonistic activity and molecular characterization of biological control agent Trichoderma harzianum from Saudi Arabia. The Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 30:4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41938-020-0207-8
Mergawy MM, Metwaly HA, Shoeip AMO (2022) Evaluation of the efficacy of some bioagents accompanied with bio- and mineral fertilizers in controlling early blight of tomato and improvement yield. Egyptian Journal of Phytopathology 50:31‒50. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejp.2022.133129.1059
Miller GL (1959) Use of dinitrosalicylic acid reagent for determination of reducing sugar. Analytical Chemistry 31(3):426‒428.
Mohamed AM, Hasan KU (2018) Study of some antioxidant enzymes of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) infected by Fusarium solani fungus with biological control by Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria. Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and chemical Sciences 9:1249‒1257. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.22466.48329
Mohammed SH (2023) Isolation, identification and ecofriendly management of cucumber damping-off disease under greenhouse condition in Erbil province. M.Sc. thesis, Salahaddin University Erbil in Partial. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20937.11364
Nasreen S, Azeem T, Ghaffar A (2009) Location of seed-borne inoculation of Macrophomina phaseolina and its transition in seedlings of cucumber. Pakistan Journal of Botany 41(5):2563‒2566.
Naveenkumar KJ, Thippeswamy B, Thirumalesh BV, Pradeepa K, Venkatesh (2011) Comparative study of fungal diversity in the agricultural soil and non-agricultural soil of Bhadravathi Taluk, Shimoga district, Karnataka, India. Journal of Research in Biology 1(2):129‒134. https://ojs.jresearchbiology.com/index.php/jrb/article/view/52
Punja ZK, Damiani A (1996) Comparative growth, morphology, and physiology of three Sclerotium species. Mycologia 88:694‒706. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.1996.12026706
Purkayastha S, Kaur B, Dilbaghi N, Chaudhury A (2006) Characterization of Macrophomina phaseolina, the charcoal rot pathogen of cluster bean, using conventional techniques and PCR-based molecular markers. Plant Pathology 55(1):106‒116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.2005.01317.x
Ragab MM, Abada KA, Abd-El-Moneim ML, Abo-Shosha YZ (2015) Effect of different mixtures of some bioagents and Rhizobium phaseoli on bean damping-off under field condition. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research 6(7):1009‒1106.
Rahman MA, Begum MF, Alam MF (2009) Screening of Trichoderma isolates as a biological control agent against Ceratocystis paradoxa causing pineapple disease of sugarcane. Mycobiology 37(4):277‒285.
R Core Team (2024) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/
Rifai MA (1969) A revision of the genus Trichoderma. Mycological Papers 116:1‒56.
Samolski I, De Luis A, Vizcaíno J, Monte E, Suárez M (2009) Gene expression analysis of the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum in the presence of tomato plants, chitin, or glucose using a high-density oligonucleotide microarray. BMC Microbiology 9:217. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-9-217
Saravanakumar K, Lili F, Fu K, Yu C, Wang M, Xia H, Sun J, Li Y, Chen J (2016) Cellulase from Trichoderma harzianum interacts with roots and triggers induced systemic resistance to foliar disease in maize. Scientific Reports 6:35543. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep35543
Sehim AE, Hewedy OA, Altammar KA, Alhumaidi MS, Abd Elghaffar RY (2023) Trichoderma asperellum empowers tomato plants and suppresses Fusarium oxysporum through priming responses. Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1140378. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1140378
Shanmugaraj C, Deeba K, Aditi K, Singh PK, Amrita D , Hussain Z, Gogoi R, Shashank PR, Gangaraj R, Chaithra M (2023) Exploring the potential biocontrol isolates of Trichoderma asperellum for management of collar rot disease in tomato. Horticulturae 9:1116. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9101116
Singh SK, Yadav VK, Chaudhary VP, Maurya MK, Vishwakarma SP, Rahul SN (2021) In vitro evaluation of new molecule fungicides against Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn causing sheath blight disease in rice. Annals of Phytomedicine 10(2):530‒534. http://dx.doi.org/10.21276/ap.2021.10.2.70
Srivastava SK (1987) Peroxidase and PPO in Brassica juncea plants infected with Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid and their implications in disease resistance. Phytopathology 77:249‒254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0434.1987.tb04439.x
Su F, Zhao B, Dhondt-Cordelier S, Vaillant-Gaveau N (2024) Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria modulate carbohydrate metabolism in connection with host plant defense mechanism. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25(3):1465. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031465
Sujatha P, Madhavi M, Pallavi M, Bharathi Y, Rao PJM, Rajeswari B, Kumar S, Reddy AA (2024) Biological seed coating innovations for sustainable healthy crop growth in tomato. In: Tomato Cultivation and Consumption - Innovation and Sustainability (Lops F, ed.). IntechOpen Limited, London, UK. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112438
Sutthisa W, Hompana W, Yutthasin R (2024) Enhancing biocontrol potential: development and efficacy assessment of a liquid formulation of Trichoderma asperellum MSU007 against Sclerotium rolfsii. Trends in Sciences 21(4):7550. https://doi.org/10.48048/tis.2024.7550
Szalay J (2017) Cucumber: health benefits and nutrition facts. https://www.livescience.com/51000-cucumber-nutrition.html
Tariq A, Ahmed A (2024) Plant phenolics production: a strategy for biotic stress management. In: Plant Phenolics in Biotic Stress Management (Lone R, Khan S, Mohammed Al-Sadi A, eds). Springer, Singapore, pp. 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3334-1_18
Vieira PM, Guedes Coelho AS, Steindorff AS, Linhares de Siqueira SJ, do Nascimiento Silva, Ulhoa CJ (2013) Identification of differentially expressed genes from Trichoderma harzianum during growth on cell wall of Fusarium solani as a tool for biotechnological application. BMC Genomics 14:177. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-14-177
White TJ, Bruns T, Lee S, Tailor S (1990) Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics. In: PCR Protocols. A Guide to Methods and Applications (Innins MA, Gelfand DH, Sninsky JJ, White TJ, eds). Academic Press Inc, San Diego, California, pp. 315–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-372180-8.50042-1
Yan L, Khan RAA (2021) Biological control of bacterial wilt in tomato through the metabolites produced by the biocontrol fungus, Trichoderma harzianum. The Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 31(1):1–9 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-020-00351-9
Yang K, Zhou G, Chen C, Xiaohong L, Wei L, Zhu F, Liang Z, Chen H (2024) Joint metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis identify unique phenolic acid and flavonoid compounds associated with resistance to Fusarium wilt in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Frontiers in Plant Science 15:1447860. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1447860
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Khairy A. Abada , Abdelrhman M. A. El-Nady , Shereen E. M. El-Nahas , Marwa A. Zayton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
