Integrated control of tomato Fusarium-wilt through implementation of soil solarization and filamentous fungi

Fusarium-wilt of tomato, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, i s an economic constraint which affects tomato production. impending loss of chemical control and their negative impact on environment and human health trigger the need for environmentally friendly alternatives. Integrated pes t management (IPM) through implementation of soil solarization (SS) an biol ogical control agent (BCA) could offer a promising strategy. Soil mulching with polyethylene (PE) film resulted in 96.3 % of healthy plants (HP) in co mparison to control (32 % HP). The temperature of solarized soil reached 52 degreesC and 48 degreesC at depths of 10 cm and 15 cm, respectively. The I PM scheme applied (SS and BCAS) revealed different de rees of HP % dependin g upon the fungus isolate used. The most effective fungi were Trichoderinap seudokoningii and Paecilomyces variotii. They gave about 94 and 87.7 % HP, respectively, when used as single seed coating with SS, but when paired tog ether they revealed 87 % HP. Pairs Chaetomium globosum-Emericilla nidulans and C. globosum-T. pseudokoningii gave promising results (91.6 and 91 % HP, respectively). The most likely mechanism exerted by these fungi may be of a chemical nature, i. e., antibiosis mechanism. The fungal activity depends upon the nature of the substrate they live on. In general, rich substrate supports the fungal potential.