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Control of Fusarium Crown and Root Rot of Tomato with Hypovirulent Binucleate Rhizoctonia in Soil and Rock Wool Systems

Hypovirulent binucleate Rhizoctonia (HBNR) isolates L2, W1, W7, and Rhv7 were studied as potential antagonists of Fusarium crown and root rot of tomato (FCRR) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, in either soil or hydroponic rock wool systems. Reduction of FCRR on tomato by HBNR isolates was different depending on the isolate, days after inoculation of pathogen, and experiments. In the greenhouse soil system, HBNR isolates significantly (P = 0.01) reduced vascular discoloration and discoloration of total roots systems by 90 to 100% and by 73 to 89%, respectively, in three experiments. Under field soil conditions, HBNR W1 provided significant (P = 0.05) reduction of vascular discoloration by 71%. In the rock wool system, all HBNR isolates except L2 in experiment 1 significantly reduced (P = 0.05) vascular discoloration by 18 to 100% in four experiments. Plants treated with all HBNR isolates had foliar symptoms reduced by 41 to 100% in four experiments under the rock wool system. Application of HBNR also resulted in increases of marketable and total yields of tomatoes as much as 70 and 73%, respectively, over the untreated plants. The number of colony forming units of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici per gram fresh weight of roots and stems was significantly reduced (P = 0.05) in plants treated with HBNR in both soil and rock wool systems. HBNR was re-isolated at a high frequency from roots grown inside paper pots containing soil infested with HBNR, but rarely isolated from the roots grown in soil infested with only F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici outside the paper pots. HBNR was not re-isolated from the tomato stems. Stem extracts from HBNR-treated and pathogen-challenged plants in the rock wool system inhibited germination and production of budding cells of F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici.