Endophytic Fungi as Biological Control Agents Against Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens in Pepper

Taha, Marwa M.; Hassan, Mohamed A.E.; Abd El-Fatah, Bahaa E.; Mahmoud, Amer F.; Abo-Elnaga, Heidi I.G.

doi:10.21608/ajas.2025.346670.1444

	Endophytic Fungi as Biological Control Agents Against Soil-Borne Fungal Pathogens in Pepper
Assiut Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Article 8, Volume 56, Issue 2, April 2025, Page 114-130 PDF (673.53 K)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/ajas.2025.346670.1444
View on SCiNiTO
Authors
Marwa M. Taha ¹; Mohamed A.E. Hassan¹; Bahaa E. Abd El-Fatah ²^{, 3}; Amer F. Mahmoud ¹; Heidi I.G. Abo-Elnaga¹
¹Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt.
²Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt.
³Faculty of Biotechnology, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Cairo, 11829, Egypt.
Abstract
Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a significant vegetable crop in Egypt, susceptible to a range of fungal pathogens. This study aimed to assess the impact of Fusarium species and Rhizoctonia solani on pepper root rot and damping-off diseases. Four Fusarium species (F. solani, F. oxysporum, F. semitectum, and F. babinda) and one isolate of R. solani were isolated from infected pepper plants. All isolates proved to be pathogenic, causing characteristic symptoms of damping-off and root rot. Among the Fusarium species, F. semitectum was the most pathogenic, followed by F. solani. The study examined the potential of six endophytic fungi (F. solani, Myrothecium verrucaria, Penicillium funiculosum, F. semitectum, Aspergillus flavus, and Penicillium aurantiogriseum) for controlling damping-off and root rot diseases. In-vitro assays revealed that A. flavus, P. aurantiogriseum, and P. funiculosum were the most effective at inhibiting the growth of the pathogenic fungi, with P. funiculosum demonstrating the highest level of mycelial growth inhibition. Under greenhouse conditions, the endophytes significantly reduced the incidence of damping-off and root rot caused by the Fusarium species and R. solani compared to untreated controls. Among the endophytes, P. funiculosum was the most effective in mitigating both damping-off and root rot across all pathogens, followed by P. aurantiogriseum.
Keywords
Damping-off; Endophytes; Fusarium spp; Pepper; Root rot; Rhizoctonia spp


Statistics Article View: 182 PDF Download: 78