In all cases, the first treatment was applied when
plants were transplanted. The pathogen was applied
1 week later (growth chamber experiments), 1 month
after transplanting (2009 greenhouse experiments)
and at the time of transplanting (2010 greenhouse experiments).
The second treatment was applied when
the first symptoms of infection appeared.
Treatments consisted of Trichoderma asperellum
strain T34 at three application rates: 103
, 104
and 105
conidia mL-1 of peat. In the 2010 experiments, as a
consequence of the experience with the previous
experiments, a narrower range of T34 application
rates was assayed (103
, 3 × 103
and 104
conidia mL-1
of peat). T34 (Trillas and Cotxarrera, 2003) stored in
silica gel at 4°C was grown in a liquid medium containing
10 g L-1 malt for 5 d at 25°C. The medium
was agitated in a horizontal shaker at 150 rpm. The
culture was filtered through a 50 μm nylon mesh to
remove the mycelium and centrifuged at 10,000×g
(4°C). The pellet was washed twice in SDW to obtain