Biological Control of Damping off Caused by Rhizoctonia solani in Green Beans Crop.

Abstract

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most important food legumes in Egypt, consumed as animal protein especially for those who cannot afford in rural areas. It is important to note that damping-off disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani is one of the most severe diseases, causing significant damage to the green bean crop. Biological control is one of the most prominent and safest methods for managing various soil-borne diseases. In this study, the effect of nine treatments were conducted in green beans crop Trichoderma sp. for injection in soil and seed treatments, Actinomycets sp., Vermi-compost, Bioactive Vermi-compost, Chitosan, Potassium permanganate, Potassium phosphite compared with negative control and Mon Cut® fungicide as chemical agents to control damping off caused by Rhizoctonia solani. Through this study, the seed treatments with Trichoderma harzianum recorded the highest survival rate in plants (71.8 %), followed by the Bioactive Vermi-compost treatment by concentration 5kg/m (66.2%) compared with negative control (49.4%) followed by Chitosan treatments (58.8 %). While, Mon Cut® chemical fungicide gave result (64.4%) in survival rate of plants. On the other hand, the effect of different treatment on plant growth parameters gave the highest rate by Bioactive Vermi-compost in plant height (65 cm) and number of leaves (17.6) while recorded seed treatment by T. harzianum the highest rate in root length (15.9 cm). In conclusion, this study showed that both Bioactive Vermi-compost and the microbes derived from it is capable of control soilborne diseases and promote the plant growth, in accordance with the bio farming system that meets export standards.