Evaluation of Some Different Biological Treatments on Control of Charcoal-Rot Incidence of Zea maize Caused by Macrophomina Phaseolina

Macrophomina phaseolina is one of the primary diseases influencing maize productivity, whether qualitatively or quantitatively. During the progress of this work the antagonistic activities of Trichoderma spp, bacteria, and novel vermicompost compared to fungicide in were used order to manage charcoal root in maize. According to all tested treatments, the novel vermicompost (V1) and T. asperellum (T2) were the best treatments enhanced the plant's survival rate by 86.67%. while both of T. harzianum (T4) and Pantoea sp. (B1) enhanced plant survival by 80.0 %, respectively, in comparison to the control. The enzyme activity of polyphenoloxidase, chitinase and glucanase was increased with all treatments after 14 and 45 days. In two locations, vermicompost, T. asperellum, and Pantoea sp. were the most effective treatments for maize stalk sugar and proline content. The maximum NPK content was recorded with T. asperellum (T2) followed by T. harzianum (T4), Ps. stutzeri, Pantoea sp., and vermicompost compared to the control. Therefore, the tested biocontrol agents and vermicompost showed antagonistic behavior against plant pathogens and help plants to grow by resisting directly or by enhancing their natural defenses which consider one of the main bio-control mechanisms. Our work tries to reducing fungicides and using integrated control as approaches method to achieve sustainable agriculture.