Screening and efficacy evaluation of antagonistic fungi against Phytophthora infestans and combination with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for biocontrol of late blight in potato

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans is the most devastating disease of potato crops worldwide. Control practices mostly rely on synthetic fungicides or copper-based products. In recent years, biological control agents have generated significant enthusiasm as eco-friendly sustainable alternatives. Here, filtrates 149 filamentous fungi and yeasts were tested in vitro against P. MUCL 54981. The effective then combined alginate beads with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Rhizophagus irregularis 41833 for their compatibility, finally greenhouse efficacy . Penicillium aurantiogriseum 47586 , griseofulvum 29201 Trichoderma virens 18139, Verticillium psalliotae 18310 totally suppressed conidial germination growth whole plants only filtrate T. significantly plant infestation. With exception none selected affected germination, root colonization, spore production R. following entrapment beads. According to these results, was experiment variety Annabelle. used leaf spray and/or treatment combination entrapped Root treatments AMF alone well reduced area under progress curve compared non-treated plants. LC-MS analyses showed koninginin D, gliotoxin, koningic acid, three antifungal compounds, which could impacted Conversely, foliar application filtrate, whether colonized not, did not reduce symptoms disease, possibly because conditions making more susceptible counterbalancing positive effects antimicrobial secondary metabolites AMF. Our results demonstrated potential a 18139 into strategy