Positive Influence of Culture Filtrates from Trichoderma spp. and Other Bioagents on Growth Enhancement in Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a vital cereal crop, belongs to the Poaceae (grass) family that forms the staple diet for more than half of the global population. It plays a critical role in food security and nutrition but severely affected by the rhizoctonia solani causing heavy yield loss. The present study evaluated the efficacy of culture filtrate of different bioagents and fungicide applied as seedling treatment (S.T.) and foliar spray (F.S.) on crop growth parameters of rice under field condition during during kharif season of 2023-24 and 2024-25. Treatments included the culture filtrates of Trichoderma viride, T. harzianum, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Carbendazim. Results revealed that all treatments significantly improved the growth parameters. Among all treatments, T. harzianum at 10% (T4) consistently recorded superior performance, with the maximum shoot length (108.36 cm and 109.10 cm), Fresh shoot weight (196.40 g/plant and 197.88 g/plant), Dry shoot weight (70.18 g/plant and 71.42 g/plant), Fresh root weight (26.48 g/plant and 27.28 g/plant), Dry root weight (11.68 g/plant and 12.36 g/plant, Number of tillers per hill (15.17 and 15.32) and Number of panicles per hill (12.88 and 12.35) in 2023–24 and 2024–25 respectively. T. viride at 10% (T2) and Carbendazim at 0.1% (T9) ranked next in effectiveness, whereas, other treatments (T1, T3, T5, T6, T7 and T8) produced moderate gains. Untreated and inoculated controls recorded the lowest values. Overall, seedling treatment and foliar spray using T. harzianum culture filtrate at 10% emerged as the most effective, providing a sustainable alternative to chemical fungicides for improving crop growth.