Evaluation of Some Plant Endophytic Fungi in Biological Control of Tomato Verticillium Wilt Disease

Verticillium wilt disease caused by Verticillium dahliae is one of the most important diseases of tomato, for this reason, the control of this disease, including biological control is of serious interest. Endophytic fungi are one of the biological control agents that in addition to controlling plant diseases, improve growth in the host plant. In this study, the biocontrol potential of several isolates from plant endophytic fungi against tomato verticillium wilt was evaluated by dual culture methods in PDA, various laboratory and greenhouse test, respectively. Base on the results, three species of Nigrospora oryzae, Chaetomium globosum and Coniolariella limonispora selected from dual culture test, in addition to reducing the germination rate of microscelerotia of V. dahliae, they were able to produce cellulase and chitinase enzymes as well as the production of auxin. N. oryzae produced the highest amount of auxin with a production of 17.625 mg/l. In greenhouse studies and under conditions of artificial contamination in potting soil, N. oryzae endophytic fungus caused the greatest reduction in the severity of symptoms of verticillium wilt (67.61%) in tomato seedlings of sensitive Falat cultivar compared to the control. Comparison of the means of some growth indices showed that this fungus (N. oryzae) had a significant effect on increasing stem and root length, and fresh weight of the plant compared to other treatments.Nigrospora oryzae endophytic fungus was selected as the superior endophytic fungus in this study with the greatest effect on reducing the severity of V. dahliae disease and increasing stem and root length.