Effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. at controlling Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. phaseoli in bean plants at a greenhouse scale

Fusarium oxysporum L. is a known etiological agent that causes dieback or root rot in multiple crops. The symptoms of this fungus are primarily associated with withering and death due to the weakening of the plant. This research evaluated the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp., at controlling Fusarium, and its ability to improve the performance of bean plants at a greenhouse scale. The commercial inoculum Fitotripen wp™, which contained three species of Trichoderma, was evaluated for the assay, and the F. oxysporum f.sp Phaseoli pathogenic isolate was also evaluated. The greenhouse scale assay had a 6x2 factorial arrangement. The in vivo experiment was performed by applying the antagonistic fungus and pathogen to bean plants of the Cargamanto variety (Phaseolus vulgaris). The severity of the disease was assessed using a completely randomized design. The treatments T6, T9 and T12 were those which generally presented a better control when considering the set of biometric variables evaluated. The study indicated that the Trichoderma species was able to efficiently control Fusarium as well as promote bean growth and performance