Role of some fungal biocontrol agents to protect foliar of cucumber plants
This study aimed to find biological factors that increase plant growth and thus the resistance of shoot fungi away from the use of chemical pesticides. The study included isolation of a large group of soil fungi Surrounding the roots of the cucumber plant grown in the greenhouse. The results of study showed the ability of fungal isolates to dissolve the phosphorus component in medium NBRIP under shaking incubated conditions. The treatment of Aspergillus niger reduced the pH after 5, 10, 15 days of incubation an average of 3.760, 3.763, 2.947 respectively. The laboratory fungal isolates have also showed their ability to produce the hormone acetic acid IAA. The results showed an increase in growth parameters of plants treated with the biological resistance fungi A. niger and T. koningi2 by increasing the wet and dry weight of the shoots and roots. The results of the peroxide enzyme estimate also confirmed the increase of this enzyme due to the biological resistance fungi as the treatment of A. niger reached 0.02067 compared to the comparison treatment, it reached 0.01333. This is an indication of the increased induction of systemic resistance in the cucumber plant, as the pathogenic fungi were not recorded on the plants treated with the biological resistance fungi, and A. alternata was recorded on the comparison treatment.