Genetical and biological control of cotton ashy stem caused by Macrophomina phaseolina in outdoor pot experiment

Two outdoor pot experiments were carried out to evaluate the reaction of 11 commercial Egyptian cotton cultivars Macrophomina phaseolina, the incitant of ashy stem in cotton and to evaluate the antagonistic ability of 27 isolates of Trichoderma sp. against pathogen cotton cultivars Giza 85, Giza 87, Giza 89 and Giza 90 were resistant to M. phaseolina because both survival and plant height of these cultivars was not affected when the soil was infested with the pathogen. None of the cultivars were found to be immune to highly pathogenic of M. phaseolina isolate. Of the 27 isolate’s of Trichoderma that were evaluated, the best antagonistic performance was given by isolates nos. 2, 10, and 16 were promising for commercialization because they significantly increased survival and improved plant height and dry weight of the surviving cotton seedlings.