Biological control of damping-off caused by Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani using Trichoderma spp applied as industrial film coatings on seeds - Biological control of damping-off

Conidia of seven Trichoderma strains were applied on cucumber or radish seeds as a simple methyl cellulose coating or through an industrial film coating process. The seeds were sown in a peat-based soil artificially infested by R. solani or P. ultimum. Four strains controlled damping-off caused by R. solani when applied as a simple coating or as an industrial film-coating. Also, four strains significantly reduced damping-off caused by P. ultimum in cucumber. A correlation was found between production of volatile antibiotics in vitro and control of P. ultimum. Survival during storage varied according to the strain. Better survival was observed for two strains, with a decrease in conidial viability of one order of magnitude after storage for three and five months at 15 degrees C and 4 degrees C, respectively. The results show the feasibility of biocontrol of seedling diseases by some antagonists applied onto seeds through an industrial film-coating process.