Botrytis cinerea is considered to be the second most important plant pathogen with devastating economic impact on different crops, including tomato. Trichoderma afroharzianum (TR04) is a promising biocontrol agent against fungal plant pathogens. This research evaluates its antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea , its growth promoting effects on tomato seeds, and its salt tolerance. The results indicate that T. afroharzianum (TR04) produces both volatile and non-volatile metabolites exhibiting antifungal properties. Specifically, the culture filtrate suppressed B. cinerea growth by 15.99%, non-volatiles with 11.45%, and volatiles with 11.44%. In growth promotion assays, T. afroharzianum (TR04) metabolites did not significantly enhance tomato seed growth except for reducing primary root length compared to the control. Notably, T. afroharzianum (TR04) exhibited robust growth under salt stress conditions (0.5, 0.75, and 1.25M NaCl), although its morphology changed significantly, displaying yellow sporulation instead of the typical green. These results suggest T. afroharzianum (TR04) as a potential biocontrol agent against B. cinerea , even in saline environments.
Vasquez et al. (Wed,) studied this question.