BIO-CONTROL
Rizobacter has developed a seed treatment product based on Trichoderma harzianum, a fungus recognized for being one of the most important bio-control agents of diseases caused by seed and soil pathogens, such as: Fusarium spp, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Drechslera tritici repentis, Tilletia laevis, Ustilago tritici, Cercospora kikuchii, and Phomopsis spp.
The rapid growth rate offers an important advantage when competing for space and nutrients with pathogens. It also improves the root structure, enhancing the absorption of nutrients and providing a better tolerance to stressful conditions.
It grows around the pathogen and on its surface. Thanks to its Iytic enzyme action (chitinase and ß-l,3-gIucanase), it can also degrade the pathogen’s cellular wall, leading to its death.
Trichoderma harzianum also secretes a large amount of antibiotic metabolites that inhibit the pathogens’ parasitic activity and prevent its development and reproduction