Trichoderma harzianum is a soil-dwelling fungus used as a kind of biocontrol fungus, it has a quicker growth rate, and highly adaptation, it widely used as biological fertilizer. It has proved a useful microorganism for soil.
T. harzianum product has an excellent performance of increasing crop disease resistance, environmental tolerance, and root system development. So it became the most popular bio fungicides on the market.
It can effectively control soil-borne diseases caused by a pathogenic fungus such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium, Rhizopus, Haloxylon, Sclerotinia, and Sclerotium.
Trichoderma harzianum Mode of Action
Competitive Effect: Trichoderma harzianum can grow rapidly in the plant’s root and leaf circumference, seize the site of the plant body, form a protective cover, just like putting boots on the plant, prevent the pathogenic fungi from touching the root system and leaf surface. To protect the roots and leaves of plants from the pathogens mentioned above, and ensure the plants can thrive.
Heavy Parasitism: Heavy parasitism refers to the complex process of identifying, contacting, entangling, penetrating, and parasitizing pathogenic bacteria in a series of consecutive steps. In the interaction between Trichoderma and pathogenic bacteria, the host mycelium secretes some substances that cause the Trichoderma to grow towards the host fungi. Once the Trichoderma parasite recognizes the host, a parasitic relationship will establish. After host fungi recognized Trichoderma, Trichoderma mycelia grew parallel and spirally wound along the host mycelium. Attached cell-like branches were adsorbed on the host mycelium, which secreted extracellular enzymes to solubilize the cell wall and penetrated the host mycelium. Absorb nutrition and kill pathogens.
Effect of Antibiotics: Trichoderma harzianum can secrete part of antibiotics, which can inhibit the growth and colonization of pathogens and reduce the damage of pathogens.
Plant Growth Regulation: Trichoderma harzianum colonizes plant roots and produces compounds that stimulate plant growth and induce plant defense responses, improve root microenvironment, enhance plant growth and disease resistance, increase crop yields and yields, and induce plant resistance, start the plant defense response. Trichoderma harzianum can be metabolized to produce xylanase. Under the action of xylanase, plants have an apparent defense reaction, K+, H+, Ca2 + ion channels are opened, ethylene is synthesized, and PR protein is accumulated.
Trichoderma harzianum produces chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase plays an essential role in anti-phytopathogenic fungi. The plant’s defense response can be initiated, leading plants to produce and accumulate phenolic compounds and lignin associated with disease resistance. At the same time, the protease produced by it can degrade the pathogens of the cell wall of the digestion plants, directly inhibit the germination of the pathogens, passivate the enzymes of the pathogens, and prevent the pathogens from invading the plant cells.
Storage of T. harzianum
The living body was stored at room temperature for six months, kept at 4°C for more than one year, and existed as dormant spores at low temperatures.
The appropriate temperature is 10-34 degrees, the working environment pH 4-8.