Trichoderma harzianum IS005-12 promotes germination, seedling growth and seedborne fungi suppression in Italian ryegrass forage

Abstract

Potential of Trichoderma harzianum IS005-12 (TH-IS005-12) to promote seed germination and seedling growth of Italian ryegrass (IRG) forage was evaluated in vitro. Non-desiccated seeds and those pre-harvestly desiccated with total herbicide were treated 25 days (freshly harvested) and 178 days after harvest (mature) with TH-IS005-12 spore suspensions at 0 (T0), 1.8 × 107 (T1) and 1.2 × 109 (T2) spore/mL. TH-IS005-12 promoted the early and final germination and seedling growth in all non-desiccated and desiccated, freshly harvested as well as mature IRG seeds. It was more effective in pre-harvestly desiccated freshly harvested seeds where T2 treatment increased final germination rate for 24%, root number per seedling 1.6-fold and seedling vigour 1.9-fold compared to the untreated control. Moreover, TH-IS005-12 showed an inhibitory activity against seedborne fungi Alternaria alternata and A. ventricosa suppressing their growth in vitro by 82% and 77%, respectively.