Integrated control of <em>Rhizoctonia solani</em> and Fusarium solani in tobacco transplants with <em>Trichoderma harzianum</em> and triadimenol.

Trichoderma cultures were isolated locally from soils and screened on potato-dextrose agar against Rhizoctonia solani. Several isolates of T. harzianum reduced the growth and build up of populations of R. solani and to a lesser extent of Fusarium solani in sterilized soil. In field experiments, biological control of R. soiani and F. solani infections in tobacco transplants was achieved by adding T. harzianum (T77) to methyl-bromide-fumigated seedbeds before seed was sown. There was also increased growth and leaf yield that was not directly correlated with disease control. Triadimenol fungicide, integrated with the Trichoderma treatment, enhanced disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]