Journal of Plant Pathology & Microbiology

Abstract

Trichoderma Spp. as Antagonist of Rhizoctonia solani

Abbas A, Jiang D, Fu Y

Trichoderma spp. are fungal species in a certain natural suppressive soil prevents the plant from infectious diseases caused by soil-borne pathogens. Among these soils borne pathogen, the fungus Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani) causes serious damages to economically significant crops and trees. The control strategies such as breeding for resistant cultivars, crop rotations, and application of fungicides are insufficient to manage diseases caused by R. solani because it persists in soil by producing sclerotia which is a hard-resistant structure. Moreover, fungicides are now unacceptable as they are not environment-friendly. The Trichoderma spp. are the potential biocontrol agents which inhibit R. solani by direct confrontation through mycoparasitic or antibiosis or competition as well as inducing plant defense responses. In this review paper, we provide first comprehensive report of a biological control activity (BCA) of Trichoderma spp. against various diseases caused by R. solani. We also report the cloning and functions of genes or proteins of Trichoderma spp. associated with suppression of diseases caused by a plant pathogen. Nevertheless, fast paced current research regarding Trichoderma spp. is required to fully exploit their actual potential against diseases caused by R. solani under field conditions.