Screening of Cucumber Fusarium Wilt Bio-inhibitor: High Sporulation Trichoderma harzianum Mutant Cultured on Moso Bamboo Medium
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 2021-12-31
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Summary
This research developed an improved natural fungal strain that can effectively control a devastating cucumber disease without using harmful chemical pesticides. The scientists used microwave treatment to create a more powerful beneficial fungus and grew it using bamboo materials as an eco-friendly growth medium. This advancement impacts everyday life in several ways:
• Provides farmers with a safer, non-toxic alternative to chemical pesticides for protecting cucumber crops
• Helps ensure more stable cucumber production and supply for consumers
• Demonstrates an environmentally sustainable approach by utilizing bamboo waste materials
• Reduces chemical pesticide pollution in soil and water systems
• Contributes to more sustainable agricultural practices that benefit both farmers and consumers
Background
Cucumber fusarium wilt is a serious soil-borne disease causing major production losses in cucumber cultivation worldwide. The extensive use of chemical pesticides has led to environmental pollution and increasing pathogen resistance, creating an urgent need for efficient, safe and pollution-free biological pesticides.
Objective
This study aimed to develop an improved biocontrol agent by obtaining a mutant strain of Trichoderma harzianum with enhanced inhibition against cucumber fusarium wilt through microwave mutagenesis, and to optimize its cultivation using moso bamboo medium.
Results
The mutant strain T334 showed a 78% inhibition rate against cucumber fusarium wilt, representing a 23.81% increase compared to the original strain. Under optimized fermentation conditions (90% bamboo stem powder, 9.5% bamboo leaf powder, 0.5% wheat bran, 4:6 solid-to-liquid ratio, 10% inoculum, 28°C), T334 achieved sporulation of 3.7 × 109 cfu/g. The bamboo medium showed significant degradation with 67.59% reduction in hemicellulose content and 13.77% reduction in cellulose content after fermentation.
Conclusion
The study successfully developed an improved T. harzianum mutant strain with enhanced biocontrol efficacy against cucumber fusarium wilt. The use of pretreated moso bamboo as cultivation medium proved effective for high sporulation of the mutant strain, providing an alternative eco-friendly approach for both biocontrol agent production and bamboo utilization.
- Published in:Frontiers in Microbiology,
- Study Type:Laboratory Research,
- Source: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.763006