Effect of Trichoderma on plant growth: A balance between inhibition and growth promotion

The effect of lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) germination and growth in nonsterilized potting compost of 0.1% and 1.0% w/w incorporation of fermenter biomass inocula of six strains of Trichoderma was investigated. Except for strains WT and T35 at 0.1 % w/w, all inocula inhibited germination. Biomass of strains WT, T35, 20, and 47 at 1.0% promoted shoot fresh weight, whereas strains TH1 and 8MF2 were inhibitory. In contrast, when biomass of strains WT, TH1, and 8MF2 was autoclaved and incorporated at 1%, shoot fresh weight was promoted, but the biomass of T35 was inhibitory. None of the strains incorporated at 0.1 % w/w increased shoot fresh weight, and autoclaved biomass of TH1, T35, and 20 incorporated at 0.1% w/w resulted in lower shoot fresh weights in comparison with uninoculated controls. The shoot dry weight of lettuce seedlings could be enhanced by germinating seeds in uninoculated compost and after five days' growth transferring them into WT-inoculated compost. Inoculum of strain TH1 when applied using this method was very inhibitory. With WT the degree of increase in shoot fresh weight and germination rate declined as the fermentation time to produce inocula was increased.