Parasitism of sclerotia of Sclerotium rolfsii by trichoderma harzianum

Abstract

The ability of Trichoderma harzianum isolate 203 to attack the soil-borne plant pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii is apparently connected with the production by the isolates of chitinase and β-(1,3)-glucanase inside the attacked sclerotia during parasitism. SEM and TEM micrographs show that the mycoparasite degraded walls of sclerotial cells and the attacked cells lost their cytoplasmic contents. It is assumed that T. harzianum utilizes sclerotial cell contents thus enabling it to sporulate intensively on the sclerotial surface and inside the digested cells.