Substrate colonization, strain competition, enzyme production in vitro, and biocontrol of Pythium ultimum by Trichoderma spp. isolates P1 and T3

The antagonistic Trichoderma spp. isolates P1 and T3 differed in their ability to colonize and to compete in sphagnum peat moss and on wood chips. In peat supplemented with straw, isolate T3 produced twice as many colony forming units (cfu) as isolate P1. On wood chips, the two isolates formed a similar number of cfu. When the two Trichoderma isolates were cultivated together approximately 85-90% of the cfu were from T3 on both substrates. The presence of Pythium ultimum in peat amended with straw did not influence the number of Trichoderma cfu formed. The two Trichoderma isolates produced different amounts of hydrolytic enzymes both in liquid cultures and in peat. Seven different enzyme activities were tested. Enzyme production by T. harzianum isolate T3 was less influenced by the type of carbon source amendment than that of isolate T. atroviride P1. Culture filtrates of isolate P1 grown on complex carbon sources were high in endochitinase activity, whereas cellulase and endo-1,3-beta-glucanase activities were more pronounced in filtrates of isolate T3. There was no significant difference between the two isolates in their ability to protect cucumber seedlings against P. ultimum while the combination of the two fungi resulted in significantly less biocontrol than each isolate alone.