The effects of Trichoderma on preventing cucumber fusarium wilt and regulating cucumber physiology

In our previous studies, we identified 3 Trichoderma strains with anti-Fusarium oxysporum activity, including T. asperellum 525, T. harzianum 610, and T. pseudokoningii 886. Here, we evaluated the effects of these 3 Trichoderma strains on preventing cucumber fusarium wilt through pot culture and greenhouse culture experiments. All 3 Trichoderma strains demonstrated higher control effects toward cucumber fusarium wilt than previous studies, with efficacies over 78%. Additionally, inoculation with the 3 Trichoderma strains significantly promoted the quality and yield of cucumbers. Among the 3 strains, Trichoderma 866 was the most effective, with disease control efficacy of 78.64% and a cucumber yield increase of 33%. Furthermore, seedlings inoculated with Trichoderma exhibited significantly increased measures of plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, aboveground fresh weight, underground fresh weight, chlorophyll content, and nitric nitrogen content, as well as the activities of several stress-resistance enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and ascorbate oxidase (AAO). In addition, the plants inoculated with Trichoderma showed decreased cell membrane permeability and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the leaves. Together, our results suggest that T. asperellum 525, T. harzianum 610, and T. pseudokoningii 886 inoculations inhibit F. oxysporum infection, stimulate the metabolism in cucumbers, and enhance the activities of stress-resistance enzymes, which consequently promote the growth of cucumber plants, prevent cucumber fusarium wilt, and improve the yield and quality of cucumbers. T. harzianum is a commonly used biocontrol fungus, while few studies have focused on T. asperellum or T. koningense. In this study, strains of T. asperellum and T. pseudokoningii showed excellent plant disease prevention and growth promoting effects on cucumber, indicating that they also have great potential as biocontrol fungi.