The use of antagonistic fungi is becoming an increasingly common practice in crop production. By establishing a symbiotic relationship with plants, these fungi promote plant growth, while their antagonistic activity enables them to suppress plant pathogens. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the fungicide Polyversum (active ingredient: Pythium oligandrum strain M1) and the microbial preparation Tricho Immun (active ingredients: Trichoderma afroharzianum strain TR04 and T. simmonsii strain TR05) on the growth and yield of pepper (Capsicum annuum), as well as their potential for controlling the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahliae when applied at different times, before and after transplanting the plants in pots. A two-factor experiment was conducted, with pathogen inoculation as one factor and treatment with microbial products as the other. Plant height, chlorophyll content (SPAD), fruit weight, fruit number and quality, yield, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, and the presence of the pathogen in stem tissues were evaluated. The highest estimated average yield was achieved by plants that were not inoculated with the pathogen and were irrigated with a Tricho Immun solution (7466 g/m²). Tricho Immun also proved to be the most effective treatment for promoting plant growth, as plants treated with the microbial preparation achieved the greatest average plant height. The highest root fresh weight was recorded in seedling soaking in solutions of both Polyversum (166 g) and Tricho Immun (172 g). Despite the application of the fungicide and the microbial preparation, the control of V. dahliae infection was unsuccessful, that was confirmed by laboratory testing of the presence of the pathogen in pepper stems.
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