Abstract

MERCHAN-GAITAN, JULIA BIBIANA; FERRUCHO, ROSA LILIA  and  ALVAREZ-HERRERA, JAVIER GIOVANNI. Effect of two Trichoderma strains on Botrytis cinerea control and fruit quality for the strawberry (Fragaria sp.). rev.colomb.cienc.hortic. [online]. 2014, vol.8, n.1, pp.44-56. ISSN 2011-2173.

The gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a limiting disease in strawberry and decreases the quality and commercial value of the fruit. Management of this disease is based on the use of chemical fungicides applied to the fruits. For this reason, the use of biocontrol organisms is an alternative for the control of this disease as they help to reduce pesticide residues in the environment. Two commercial cultivars of strawberry (Camino Real and Ventana) were evaluated in a completely randomized design with four treatments: Trichoderma harzianum, T. lignorum, iprodione in commercial doses and a control treatment, each one with three replicates for a total of twelve experimental units (EU), with each EU comprising five plants. The incidence of the disease in the control treatment was 60%; whereas, the T. harzianum and T. lignorum treatments only reached 33%, indicating greater control of the antagonists as compared with the chemical treatment of the disease. Regarding severity, the treatments with T. harzianum and T. lignorum significantly reduced the development of the pathogen in the plant by 32%. The fresh mass of the fruits presented significant differences when T. lignorum was applied; this treatment obtained the heaviest fruits and more red color (hue). The application of Trichoderma sp. provided firmer fruits in the two varieties with average values of 9.1 N. This indicates that these fruits will probably support better post-harvest handling and storage.

Keywords : biocontrol; gray mold; organoleptic; beneficial fungi; color.

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