Isolation and effect of Trichoderma citrinoviride Snef1910 for the biological control of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita

Abstract Background Root-knot nematode is one of the most significant diseases of vegetable crops in the world. Biological control with microbial antagonists has been emerged as a promising and eco-friendly treatment to control pathogens. The aim of this study was to screen and identify novel biocontrol agents against root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Results A total of 890 fungal isolates were obtained from rhizosphere soil of different crops and screened by nematicidal activity assays. Snef1910 strain showed high virulence against second stage juveniles (J2s) of M. incognita and identified as Trichoderma citrinoviride by morphology analysis and biomolecular assay. Furthermore, T. citrinoviride Snef1910 significantly inhibited egg hatching with the hatching inhibition percentages of 90.27, 77.50, and 67.06% at 48, 72, and 96 h after the treatment, respectively. The results of pot experiment showed that the metabolites of T. citrinoviride Snef1910 significantly decreased the number of root galls, J2s, and nematode egg masses and J2s population density in soil and significantly promoted the growth of tomato plants. In the field experiment, the biocontrol application showed that the control efficacy of T. citrinoviride Snef1910 against root-knot nematode was more than 50%. Meanwhile, T. citrinoviride Snef1910 increased the tomato plant biomass. Conclusions T. citrinoviride strain Snef1910 could be used as a potential biological control agent against root-knot nematode, M. incognita.