Blue mold disease, caused by Penicillium italicum (P. italicum), presents a significant challenge to orange fruits (Citrus sinensis L.) and other citrus crops globally. Biological control, particularly Trichoderma species, offers a promising alternative to synthetic fungicides. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate, identify, and evaluate the antagonistic activities of two Trichoderma isolates against P. italicum. These isolates were molecularly identified and assigned accession numbers PP002254 and PP002272, respectively. Both isolates demonstrated significant antifungal activity in dual culture assays. Moreover, the culture filtrates (CFs) of Trichoderma longibrachiatum PP002254 and Trichoderma harzianum PP002272 suppressed the mycelial growth of P. italicum by 77.22% and 71.66%, respectively. Additionally, CFs reduced the severity of blue mold on orange fruits by 26.85% and 53.81%, compared to 100% in the control group. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that treated P. italicum hyphae were shrunken and disfigured. Enzyme activities (catalase, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase) in treated oranges increased, along with total soluble phenolics and flavonoids. Conversely, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels decreased in treated fruits. These findings suggest that T. longibrachiatum PP002254 and T. harzianum PP002272 could be effective biocontrol agents for managing blue mold and other citrus postharvest diseases.

One of Egypt’s most notable and historically significant vegetable crops is the Liliaceae plant, Allium cepa L. In this study, the effectiveness of methanolic extracts of Artemisia absinthium leaves, Calotropis procera latex, Moringa oleifera seeds, and Syzygium aromaticum clove was investigated in vitro and, in a greenhouse, setting against Fusarium oxysporum, the pathogen that causes onion basal rot in Assiut Governorate, Egypt. The S. aromaticum extract exhibited the inhibition peak (63.3%), whereas the A. absinthium extract had the lowest inhibition impact against F. oxysporum growth (41.1%). The gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis revealed that 82 important compounds, with abundances ranging from low to high, were present in the tested S. aromaticum’s methanolic extract. The primary components were acetaldehyde, hydroxy- and 2-propanone, 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-(42.71%), 1,2-ethanediol, and methyl alcohol (34.01%). In comparison to the infected control, the disease severity was significantly reduced by 20% with the use of a plant extracts mixture and Dovex 50% and increased by 62.22% with the use of an extract from A. absinthium. When compared to the infected control, onion plant fresh weight and dry weight were considerably higher under the clove extract therapy. The plant extracts used in this study’s testing contain a number of active ingredients, including amino acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes, which is probably why they have such positive impacts. The application of a combination of plant extracts was suggested as a feasible strategy for improving the growth and productivity of onion plants by the study’s findings. More research is needed to comprehend the mechanisms by which plant extracts promote plant development and to optimize the concentration and timing of administration.

This study was conducted to evaluate the ability of some endophytic fungi, as biocontrol agents against sesame wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. sesame. Eleven fungal species belong to genus Fusarium was isolated from different localities in Sohag and Assiut governorates. All isolated species proved to be pathogenic on Giza-32 sesame cultivar. Twelve endophytic fungi isolates were isolated from some parts of various plants. The endophytic fungi isolates were tested for antagonistic activity by the dual culture and culture filtrate techniques. All endophytic fungal isolates were showed antagonistic activity againstthe causal pathogen in vitro. The endophytic Aspergillus niger was more antagonistic than other tested isolates toward the causal pathogenfollowed by A. clavatus, Penicillium chrysogenum and P. crustosum. All the tested fungal culture filtrates (FCF) were significantly affected the growth of the causal pathogen. FCF of Aspergillus terreusisolate at 20 % concentration displayed the greatest inhibitory action to the pathogen mycelia growth. Single application with endophytic fungi or combined with Trichoderma sp. were significantly deceased the disease severity (%) and increased the plant growth parameters such as shoot length, shoot weight, root weight and number of pods.

Powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae is a major pathogen in growing rose gardens. The conidia of the causal pathogen were isolated and collected from Assiut and Sohag governorates, Egypt. The pathological capacity of four fungal isolators was tested on the Eiffel Tower (Rosa hybrida) cultivar, the isolate obtained from Assiut was the most severe infection isolate and the sensitivity reaction of the cultivars were tested using four cultivars of roses i.e., Eiffel Tower (R. hybrida), Multiflora rose (Rosa polyantha), Pine rose (Rosa pinetorum) and Dwarf rose (Rosa gymnocarpa). The cultivars showed varying degrees of significant responses to powdery mildew infection. R. polyantha had the highest disease severity, whereas R. pinetorum had the lowest severity. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to confirm the effectiveness of these fungicides. Six fungicides were tested: Bellis® 38% WG, Collis 30% SC, Dovex 50% SC, Montoro 30% EC, Tilt 25% EC, and Topsin M 70% WP. Both Dovex 50% SC and Montoro 30% EC, fungicide were completely suppressed the disease severity (0.00%) on R. polyantha and R. pinetorum after 45 days in both seasons compared to the control. Two commercial bio-fungicides were used, Bio-Arc 6% and Bio-Zeid 2.5%, which completely suppressed the disease severity (0.66 and 0.83%) and (0.33 and 0.83%) on R. polyantha, (1.16 and 1.16%) and (0.00 and 0.00%) on R. pinetorum, respectively, after 45 days in both seasons compared to the control.