The effect of spraying with growth regulator (Atonic) and Trichoderma viride in improving the physical properties of Buckthorn fruits (Ziziphus mauritiana L. cv. Tufahi) infected with Alternaria alternata

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of field crops, College of Agriculture and Marshes, University of Thi-Qar, Thi-Qar-64001, Iraq

Abstract

Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the plant growth regulator Atonic and the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma viride on reducing Alternaria alternata infection, both individually and in combination. The goal was also to improve the physical properties of bitter elderberry (Ziziphus mauritiana L. cv. Tufahi) fruits. The study focused on increasing fruit quality as well as providing an environmentally friendly method for disease control.
Materials and Methods
The location of this study was a commercial garden of bitter elderberry located south of Nasiriyah city, Dhi Qar province, Iraq. The time of the study coincided with the growing season in 2023-2024. Six-year-old buckthorn trees naturally infected with A. alternata were used. Standard mycological techniques were used to isolate and identify pathogens from infected fruits. In vitro antagonism tests were conducted on potato dextrose agar (PDA) to assess the inhibitory effect of T. viride against A. alternata. Then assess the Atonic effect on the growth of both fungi was performed under laboratory conditions. In the field experiment, trees were treated with Atonic alone, T. viride alone, a combination of both, and an untreated control.
Results
Our laboratory results showed that T. viride has a high inhibitory effect on the growth of A. alternata. It indicates that it has high potential to act as a biological control agent. In contrast, we did not observe any direct inhibitory or stimulatory effects of Atonic on any of the fungi in vitro. These results suggest that its role is mainly physiological. Based on field results, it was found that the combined use of Atonic and T. viride was more effective than individual treatments and control. This treatment significantly increased vegetative growth, fruit length and diameter, fresh and dry fruit weight, pulp weight, seed weight, and pulp-to-seed ratio. In addition, the treated fruits showed a significant reduction in the severity and extent of A. alternata infection.
Conclusions
The results of this study showed that the interaction between Atonic and T. viride is synergistic. The physiological stimulation provided by Atonic, combined with the biocontrol and growth-promoting effects of T. viride. This resulted in improved physical fruit quality and effective suppression of A. alternata. Therefore, we can recommend this hybrid method as a safe and effective approach to improve the quality of bitter buckthorn fruit and manage fungal diseases in field conditions.

Keywords

References

Bell, D. K., Wells, H. D., & Markham, C. R. (1982). In vitro antagonism of Trichoderma species against six fungal plant pathogens. Phytopathology, 72(4), 379-382. https://doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-72-379
Di Sario, L., Boeri, P., Matus, J. T., & Pizzio, G. A. (2025). Plant biostimulants to enhance abiotic stress resilience in crops. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(3), Article 1129. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26031129
Dou, J., Liu, J., Ma, G., Lian, H., & Li, M. (2024). The physiological effect of Trichoderma viride on melon yield and its ability to suppress Rhizoctonia solani. Agronomy, 14(10), Article 2318. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14102318
Du Jardin, P. (2015). Plant biostimulants: Definition, concept, main categories and regulation. Scientia Horticulturae, 196, 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.09.021
Ekir San, A., & Yildirim, A. N. (2010). Phenolic, alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene and fatty acid composition of four promising jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Miller) selections. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 23(7), 706-710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2010.02.008
Głąb, T., Gondek, K., & Szewczyk, W. (2021). Effects of plant growth regulators on the mechanical traits of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Scientia Horticulturae, 288, Article 110351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110351
Gonçalves, B., Santos, M., Silva, V., Rodrigues, A., Oliveira, I., Lopes, T., Sujeeth, N., & Guinan, K. J. (2025). Biostimulants in fruit crop production: Impacts on growth, yield, and fruit quality. Horticulturae, 11(12), Article 1452. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae11121452
Guzmán-Guzmán, P., Etesami, H., & Santoyo, G. (2025). Trichoderma: A multifunctional agent in plant health and microbiome interactions. BMC Microbiology, 25(1), Article 434. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-04158-2
Harman, G. E., Doni, F., Khadka, R. B., & Uphoff, N. (2021). Endophytic strains of Trichoderma increase plants’ photosynthetic capability. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 130(2), 529-546. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.14368
Larran, S., Simón, M. R., Santamarina, M. P., Roselló Caselles, J., Consolo, V. F., & Perelló, A. (2023). Endophytic Trichoderma strains increase soya bean growth and promote charcoal rot control. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 22(7), 395-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssas.2023.03.005
Liu, J., Lian, H., Dou, J., Li, J., Zhu, G., Wang, J., Ma, G., & Li, M. (2025). Physiological impact of Trichoderma viride agents on the quality and production of melon that is grown on soils continuously cropped to melon. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, Article 1513324. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1513324
Loeza-Lara, P., Jiménez-Mejía, R., & Santoyo, G. (2024). The effect of biostimulants on horticultural crops. Horticulturae, 10(10), Article 1086. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10101086
Meena, M., Gupta, S. K., Swapnil, P., Zehra, A., Dubey, M. K., & Upadhyay, R. S. (2017). Alternaria toxins: Potential virulence factors and genes related to pathogenesis. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Article 1451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01451
McKinney, H. H. (1923). Influence of soil temperature and moisture on infection of wheat seedlings by Helminthosporium sativum. Journal of Agricultural Research, 26, 195-217. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/19241100488
Minaxi, & Saxena, J. (2011). Efficacy of rhizobacterial strains encapsulated in nontoxic biodegradable gel matrices to promote growth and yield of wheat plants. Applied Soil Ecology, 48(3), 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2011.04.007
Park, J., Kim, S., Jo, M., An, S., Kim, Y., Yoon, J., Jeong, M. H., Kim, E. Y., Choi, J., Kim, Y., & Park, S. Y. (2024). Isolation and identification of Alternaria alternata from potato plants affected by leaf spot disease in Korea: Selection of effective fungicides. Journal of Fungi, 10(1), Article 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10010053
Pondkule, N. S. (2018). Studies on early blight of tomato caused by Alternaria solani (Ell. and Martin) Jones and Grout [Master’s thesis, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth]. Krishikosh. http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810071730
Rouphael, Y., & Colla, G. (2020). Biostimulants in agriculture. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, Article 40. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00040
Vojnović, Đ., Maksimović, I., Tepić Horecki, A., Žunić, D., Adamović, B., Milić, A., Šumić, Z., Sabadoš, V., & Ilin, Ž. (2023). Biostimulants affect differently biomass and antioxidant status of onion (Allium cepa) depending on production method. Horticulturae, 9(12), Article 1345. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9121345
Williams, J. G. K., Kubelik, A. R., Livak, K. J., Rafalski, J. A., & Tingey, S. V. (1990). DNA polymorphisms amplified by arbitrary primers are useful as genetic markers. Nucleic Acids Research, 18(22), 6531-6535. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/18.22.6531
Yadav, M. S., Godika, S., Yadava, D. K., Ahmad, N., Mehta, N., Bhatnagar, K., Agrawal, V. K., Kumar, A., Thomas, L., & Chattopadhyay, C. (2019). Prioritizing components of package of integrated pest management in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) in India for better economic benefit. Crop Protection, 120, 21-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.02.008
Yao, X., Guo, H., Zhang, K., Zhao, M., Ruan, J., & Chen, J. (2023). Trichoderma and its role in biological control of plant fungal and nematode disease. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, Article 1160551. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1160551      
Agricultural Biotechnology Journal
Volume 18, Issue 2
February 2026
Pages 331-346

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics