Australasian Plant Pathology

Gunes, Hasret; Hatipoglu, Murside; Yildiz, Muhsin; Bitik, Selma Kipcak; Erdinc, Ceknas; Demir, Semra

2025 Australasian Plant Pathology

doi: 10.1007/s13313-025-01019-4

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a vegetable widely grown worldwide for its agricultural, economic and nutritional value. With the increase in cucumber cultivation areas in recent years, soil-borne plant disease such as Pythium spp. and Fusarium wilt (FW) have caused significant economic losses for producers. Filamentous Trichoderma fungi and gamma radiation are well known for their ability to stimulate many plant-pathogen fungal interactions, plant defense mechanisms against these fungi (antagonistic, competitive, etc.), and plant growth. This study aims to examine the effects of Trichoderma spp. (Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma virens), which are among the sustainable practices against F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum and P. aphanidermatum pathogens, and the effects of gamma rays (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 Gy), which are used as a reliable method for changing physiological and biochemical processes in plants and investigating their interactions with pathogens. The results revealed that the interaction between gamma rays and Trichoderma species increased the fresh and dry weights and shoot and root length values of the cucumber plants and decreased the disease severity. When Trichoderma harzianum (%51-%78 impact) and Trichoderma virens (%40-%67 impact) were compared, their effects on plant growth and disease severity were determined to vary according to parameters and gamma doses. These results indicate that gamma mutations may improve the biocontrol properties of T. harzianum and T. virens. According to the results of this study, gamma rays can be used in sustainable agricultural practices together with Trichoderma spp. as a bioformulation against pathogens that cause wilt and root rot in cucumber [F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum (72%) and P. aphanidermatum (66%)] against.