Evaluating fungicides compatibility with native strains of Trichoderma and Aspergillus on tomato crop against damping-off and wilt disease under in-vitro and in vivo conditions

Damping off and wilt are fungal diseases that primarily affect young tomato seedlings. These diseases often lead to significant crop loss. For control of damping-off and wilt, farmers frequently resort to the use of fungicides. However, their prolonged usage leaves chemical residues in the soil, which escalates soil infertility and kills microorganisms. To overcome this issue, fungicides have recently been increasingly combined with different biocontrol agents. This is followed to achieve efficient plant disease management. However, it is worth noting that the combination of suitable fungicides and biocontrol agents must be considered with specific measures. Dominant fungicides are often subdue to the influence of biocontrol agents. Numerous attempts have been undertaken to analyze different fungicides and biocontrol agents with limited success in tea, cacao, and sugarcane crops. Further, such studies for the control of damping-off and wilt in tomato crops are critical but remain primarily scarce. Thus, an attempt is made to evaluate the compatibility of eight different fungicides with the six novel native strains under in vitro and pot conditions. The results reveal suitable compatibility of fungicides Tebuconazole + Trifloxystrobin, Copper oxychloride, Azoxystrobin + Cyproconazole, N-trichloromethylthio-4-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboximide, Propiconazole, Hexaconazole, and Metalaxyl + Mancozeb with five Trichoderma and one Aspergillus spp. Further, it is found that the Tebuconazole + Trifloxystrobin, Copper oxychloride, and Azoxystrobin + Cyproconazole fungicides pose maximum compatibility and recorded the lowest disease incidence in the referred order. Lastly, it is relatively shown that the combination of fungicides and native fungal antagonists could overcome the limitations associated with the individual usage of the two in control of damping-off and wilt in tomato crops with strategic sustainability.