Biological plant protection is a way of controlling pests in agriculture and forestry using beneficial organisms. In biotic plant protection with various pathogens of fungi naturally occurring in the ecosystem, we reduce the potential of diseases and this economic damage. Antagonist fungi, which include fungi of the genus Trichoderma, inhibit or even stop the growth of other fungi in the natural environment. Fusarium is one of the most important genera of fungi that form mycotoxins in food and feed. Fusarium fungi on plants cause wilting, burning, rot and cancerous formations. In the research, we wanted to determine whether fungi of the genus Trichoderma antagonistically act on the soil pathogen F. oxysporum. In the first study, we conducted a laboratory experiment with double cultures. The fungus Trichoderma asperellum isolated from two microbiological preparations was used, Trifender®Pro and Pannon Starter Perfect®Pro and isolates of F. oxysporum pathogenic fungus from lettuce, soybeans, strawberries and cyclamen. The fungi were inoculated at three times and then their growth at temperatures of 15 and 25 °C was monitored. According to the results, T. asperellum grows best at a higher temperature (25 °C) and outgrows over a larger surface area than the pathogen F. oxysporum, so it makes the most sense to use the antagonistic fungus T. asperellum at a higher temperature, since then it grows fastest and thus takes up space. The interaction between F. oxysporum and T. asperellum is observed in culture medium by stopping the growth of F. oxysporum and T. asperellum growing around F. oxysporum and overgrowing it most at a higher temperature. At 15 °C, T. asperellum isolate has no effect on the growth of F. oxysporum mycelium, as the fungi do not come into contact due to slow growth. In another study, we did a pot experiment adding an antagonist, a pathogen isolate from lettuce, or a combination of both, to lettuce seedlings. We found out that differences in the growth of the aerial and underground parts of lettuce plants can not be attributed to the influence of the pathogen, antagonist or a combination of both.
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