Efficiency of the fungi isolated from the tomato rhizosphere to control the north root-knot nematode Meloidogyne hapla Chitwood 1949

Abstract Background In the South of Russia, due to the large acreage of tomato crops ( Solanum lycopersicum Mill.), there is an acute problem of plant protection against the obligate endoparasitic of the root system Meloidogyne hapla Chitwood 1949. The aim of this study was to assess the nematicidal activity of fungal strains isolated from the rhizosphere of tomato plants infected with root-knot nematodes (RKN) ( Meloidogyne spp.). Results After conducting route surveys, 10 soil samples were selected from the rhizosphere of tomato plants affected by RKN. Fifteen isolates of fungi belonging to different species were isolated from the soil samples. The species composition of the isolated fungal strains was determined: Metarhizium anisopliae IG01, Penicillium citrinum IG02, Trichoderma harzianum IG03, Aspergillus niger IG04, Trichoderma ghanense IG05, Trichoderma harzianum IG06, Trichoderma atroviride IG07, Aspergillus awamori IG08, Trichoderma atroviride IG09, Paramyrothecium roridum IG10, Trichoderma atroviride IG11, Trichoderma hamatum IG12, Beauveria bassiana IG13, Aspergillus ochraceus IG14, Purpureocillium lilacinum IG15. After initial screening in the laboratory, strains with the greatest nematicidal activity and safe for humans were selected: M. anisopliae ИГ01 , T. harzianum IG03, T. ghanense IG05, T. atroviride IG07, T. atroviride IG09. The mortality rate of RKN when using these fungal strains varied from 79.4 ± 1.8 to 93.9 ± 3.1%. In the greenhouse, the fungal strains M. anisopliae IG01, T. harzianum IG03, T. ghanense IG05 , T. atrovirid e IG07, T. atroviride IG09 showed high results in reducing the number of galls on the roots of tomato plants, and their biological efficacy was 71.4–83.0%. Conclusion Work on the study of the nematicidal activity of fungi, in vitro and in vivo, allows us to conclude that strains isolated from the rhizosphere of plants can be effective in combating the north RKN ( M. hapla ). In the future, it is planned to establish the compatibility of M. anisopliae IG01, T. harzianum IG03, T. ghanense IG05 , T. atroviride IG07, T. atroviride IG09 with each other and selecting the ratios of the studied strains to obtain mixtures to create an effective biological nematicide.