Suppression of Meloidogyne incognita by the endophytic fungus Acremonium implicatum from tomato root galls

Specific endophytes with biocontrol potential might occur in diseased plant tissues. We isolated an endophytic fungus from tomato root galls infected with Meloidogyne incognita and identified it as Acremonium implicatum based on morphology and internal transcribed spacer sequences. Its biocontrol potential was tested in vitro and in pot and field experiments. In the in vitro test, 96.0 percent of second-stage juveniles of M. incognita were killed by a culture filtrate of A. implicatum after 48 h. The fungus also suppressed egg hatching, with only 36.3 percent of treated eggs hatching compared with 87.3 percent of control eggs. Pot experiments showed that A. implicatum inhibited the formation of root galls, with 40.6 galls per treated plant compared with 121.6 on control plants. A. implicatum reduced the nematode population in soil, with 151.1 nematodes per 100 g treated soil and 375.1 in control soil. Field experiments demonstrated that the root gall index of treated plants (25)was markedly lower than that of control plants (96). In conclusion, A. implicatum has excellent potential for the biocontrol of M. incognita