Biological Control Of Soil-Borne Fungi In Greenhouse

• M. Taweel, ⁽¹⁾, B. Alrahban, ⁽²⁾ and G. Abdulrahman ⁽³⁾.
  ⁽¹⁾ Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, P.O. Box 1244, Lattakia, Syria
  E-mail: mtawil@scs-net.org
  ⁽²⁾ General Commission of Scientific Agricultural Research, P.O. Box 113, Douma, Damascus, Syria
  E-mail: protlib@mail.sy
  ⁽³⁾ General Commission of Scientific Agricultural Research, Agricultural Research Center, Lattakia, Syria.

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the effect of some biocides in controlling the soil-borne fungi Fusarium spp. the causal agent of wilt disease in greenhouse. Two types of biological pesticides were used, the fungus Trichoderma harzianum and the bacterium Bacillus subtillis, and they were compared with some chemical pesticides. Results has shown the efficiency of biocides to protect gerbera plants, by reducing infection rate from 11.7 to 8.1% for Trichoderma and from 18.0% to 4.5% for B. subtillis. The effect of the chemical pesticide Benomyl was weak because of infection stability through experiment stages. Also the chemical pesticide Tashgarine didn't reduce the infection but raised it after 100 days of treatment from 9.3% to 14.9%. In case of strawberry, the efficiency of biocides reached 57.7 and 70.9% for Trichoderma and B. subtillis, respectively, in comparison Tashagarine with which reached 66.6%. These results were accompanied by an increase in fruit weight of 127.4% for Trichoderma, 115.0% for B. subtillis and 76.8% for Tashgarine as compared to the control.