Effects of mineral, organic, and biological fertilization on the establishment of Pochonia chlamydosporia var. catenulata (Kamyschko ex. Barron and Onions) Zare & Gams in a protected crop

The objective of this research work was to evaluate the effect of applying different doses of mineral fertilization, organic fertilization (worm humus) or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus hoi-like) separately or in combination on the establishment of the strain IMI SD 187 of P. chlamydosporia var. catenulata. The experiment was carried out using the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) hybrid HA-3108 in a greenhouse at «Los 3 Picos» farm in Havana, Cuba. Colonization of the soil and roots by the selected strain was assessed in each treatment. The number of P. chlamydosporia colony forming units in soil and roots was directly related to the application of arbuscular micorrhizal fungi and worm humus according to the Principal Component analysis and the biplot graph used. A direct relationship between the mineral fertilization and P. chlamydosporia colonization of roots was found, while it was inverse respect the soil colonization. These results indicated that the nutritional treatments favored P. chlamydosporia (IMI SD 187) growth, with more significant effects when the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were used combined with the worm humus.