Journal of Applied Biosciences (J. Appl. Biosci.) [ISSN 1997 - 5902]
Volume 45: 3071 - 3080. Published September 29, 2011.
Study on the control of Fusarium wilt in the stems of mycorrhizal and trichodermal inoculated pepper (Capsicum annum L.)
*Oyetunji O.J. & Salami A.O.
1Department of Botany and Microbiology (Plant Physiology and Mycorrhizal Technology), University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Corresponding author email: solatunji2k2@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Objective: Green house experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (Glomus mosseae) and Trichoderma koningii as biocontrol agents against Fusarium wilt of pepper (Capsicum annum L.) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp lycopersici.
Methodology and results: The pepper used was susceptible to the pathogen (F. oxysporum). The pepper plants inoculated first with F. oxysporum died after 2 to 3 weeks. Simultaneous inoculation with the AM and the pathogen exhibited improved growth performance over the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungus non-inoculated. AM inoculation a week before F. oxysporum inoculation had the best growth performance. However, simultaneous inoculation of the pathogen and T. koningii did not improve the growth of the pepper. Microscopic examination of cells showed that the Glomus mosseae and T. koningii inoculated plants had cell walls that were thickened at the edges compared to those from other treatments.
Conclusion and application of findings: The inoculations of pepper with these biocontrol agents reduced the incidence of Fusarium wilt in it and this depends on the sequence of AM inoculation. The Fusarium wilt of pepper could be biologically controlled by G. mosseae and T. koningii inoculations.
Key words: biocontrol, defense mechanism, F. oxysporum, G. mosseae, growth performance, pathogen, pepper, T. koningii.
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