AUTHOR=Joo Jin Ho , Hussein Khalid Abdallah 

TITLE=Biological Control and Plant Growth Promotion Properties of Volatile Organic Compound-Producing Antagonistic Trichoderma spp.

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.897668

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.897668

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Trichoderma</italic> is environmentally vital due to their plant growth-promoting effects (such as enhancement of nutrients supply, suppression of plant pathogens, and promotion of plant defense). Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are diverse chemical substances emitted by <italic>Trichoderma</italic> spp. The potential role of VOCs in biological control and plant growth promotion has recently been recognized. Here, the <italic>Trichoderma</italic>-VOCs' performance for plant growth promotion and suppression of plant pathogens are evaluated. We further investigated VOC emission profiles of <italic>T. harzianum</italic> using GC–MS. The <italic>Trichoderma</italic>-VOCs exhibited significant (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) antifungal properties against all tested pathogenic fungi. <italic>T. atroviride</italic>-VOCs showed a decisive inhibition of <italic>Alternaria panax, Botrytis cinerea, Cylindrocarpon destructans</italic>, and <italic>Sclerotinia nivalis</italic>. The germinating seeds demonstrated growth enhancement in the presence of <italic>Trichoderma</italic>-VOCs emitted by different strains. Low levels of cyclopentasiloxane, decamethyl, cyclotetrasiloxane, and octamethyl were found in <italic>T. harzianum</italic> KNU1 strain whereas cyclopentasiloxane, decamethyl, cyclotetrasiloxane, and octamethyl showed higher emission levels as Si-containing compounds. The results reveal the potentiality of VOCs as a biocontrol resource against deleterious rhizosphere microorganisms and underline the importance of <italic>Trichoderma</italic>-VOCs emissions in regulating plant growth and development.</p>