Biological Control of Phytophthora Root Rot of Pepper Using Trichoderma harzianum and Streptomyces rochei in Combination

A combination of two compatible micro-organisms, Trichoderma harzianum and Streptomyces rochei, both antagonistic to the pathogen Phytophthora capsici, was used to control root rot in pepper. The population of the pathogen in soil was reduced by 75% as a result. Vegetative growth of the mycelium of P. capsici was inhibited in vitro on the second day after P. capsici and T. harzianum were placed on the opposite sides of the same Petri plate. Trichoderma harzianum was capable of not only arresting the spread of the pathogen from a distance, but also after invading the whole surface of the pathogen colony, sporulating over it. Scanning electron microscopy showed the hyphae of P. capsici surrounded by those of T. harzianum, their subsequent disintegration, and the eventual suppression of the pathogen’s growth. Streptomyces rochei produced a zone of inhibition, from which was obtained a compound with antioomycete property secreted by the bacteria. When purified by high-pressure liquid chromatography, this compound was identified as 1-propanone, 1-(4-chlorophenyl), which seems to be one of the principal compounds involved in the antagonism. A formulation was prepared that maintained the compound’s capacity to inhibit growth of the pathogen for up to 2 years when stored at room temperature in the laboratory on a mixture of plantation soil and vermiculite. The two antagonists, added as a compound formulation, were effective at pH from 3.5 to 5.6 at 23–30 C. The optimal dose of the antagonists in the compound formulation was 3.5 · 108 spores/ml of T. harzianum and 1.0 · 109 FCU/ml of S. rochei. This is the first report of a compound biocontrol formulation of these two antagonists with a potential to control root rot caused by P. capsici.