Table 1_Trichoderma controls bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae in Passiflora edulis.docx

At 14 dpi, H₂O₂ content and the activities of three antioxidant enzymes -superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase- were also evaluated.</p>Results and discussion<p>Trichoderma filtrates showed antimicrobial activity against Xap. In the absence of the pathogen, strain T25 promoted the growth of P. edulis plants. Both Trichoderma strains controlled disease symptoms with similar efficacy.

However, at the early stage of the P. edulis-Xap interaction, differential expression of SA- and JA-related genes was detected between T25-pretreated and T146-pretreated plants. Furthermore, at the later stage of the interaction (14 dpi), pretreatment with strain T146 increased ROS levels (measured as H₂O₂ content) in response to Xap, whereas the lowest oxidative levels were observed in plants inoculated with the pathogen alone.

Our results demonstrate that T. asperellum and T. harzianum effectively control bacterial blight caused by a virulent Xap strain in P. edulis.</p>