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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1486607
This article is part of the Research Topic Pathogen Suppression by Plant-Associated Microbiota View all articles

Co-inoculation of Trichoderma viride with Azospirillum brasilense could suppress the development of Harpophora maydis-infected Maize in Egypt

Provisionally accepted
Rasha Mohamed Elmeihy Rasha Mohamed Elmeihy 1Omar A. Hewedy Omar A. Hewedy 2*Maryam Alhumaidi Maryam Alhumaidi 3Khadijah A. Altammar Khadijah A. Altammar 3Eman O. Hassan Eman O. Hassan 4Samah A. El-Debaiky Samah A. El-Debaiky 5
  • 1 Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Moshtohor 13736, Egypt., Benha, Egypt
  • 2 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
  • 3 Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Hafr Al Batin, Hafr Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Moshtohor 13736, Egypt., Benha, Egypt
  • 5 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt., Tanta, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Plant diseases caused by fungal pathogens are responsible for severe damage to strategic crops worldwide. Late wilt disease (LWD) is a vascular disease that occurs late in maize development.Harpophora maydis, the causative agent of maize LWD, is responsible for significant economic losses in Egypt. Therefore, the aim of this study was to control LWD of maize using an alternative approach to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. A combination of Trichoderma viride, a fungal biocontrol agent, and Azospirillum brasilense, a bacterial endophytic plant growth promoter, was applied in vitro and in planta. T. viride showed high mycoparasitic potential against H. maydis via various antagonistic activities, including the production of lytic enzymes, secondary metabolites, volatile compounds, and siderophores. A. brasilense and T. viride filtrates were also shown to suppress H. maydis growth, in addition to their ability to produce gibberellic and indole acetic acids. A significant change in the metabolites secreted by T. viride was observed using GC/MS in the presence of H. maydis. A field experiment was conducted on susceptible and resistant hybrids of maize to evaluate the antagonistic activity of T. viride combined with A. brasilense on LWD incidence as well as plant growth promotion under field conditions. The data revealed a significant decrease in both disease incidence and severity in maize plants treated with T. viride and/or A. brasilense. Further, there was a noticeable increase in all plant growth and yield parameters. An anatomical examination of the control and inoculated maize roots was also reflective of plant responses under biotic stress. Taken together, the obtained results provide successful eco-friendly management strategies against LWD in maize.

    Keywords: Trichoderma viride, Azospirillum brasilense, secondary metabolites, Maize, Late wilt

    Received: 26 Aug 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Elmeihy, Hewedy, Alhumaidi, Altammar, Hassan and El-Debaiky. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Omar A. Hewedy, Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt

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