Control of Rhizoctonia solani (Kuhn) damping-off in tomato seedbeds using alternative methods to methyl bromide

The use of methyl bromide in soil desinfestation is a common practice in tomato seedbeds and in crops grown in greenhouses of Northern Greece, because of its effectiveness against soil-borne pathogens causing damping-off diseases, as Rhizoctonia solani The effectiveness of methyl bromide, metham sodium, Terraclor Super-X and of the biological agent Trichoderma koningii (Oudemans) against R. solani was evaluated. The experimental tomato seedbeds were established in the field from July to November 1999 and in the greenhouse from November 1999 to March 2000 and were artificially inoculated with R. solani cultures. The efficacy of methyl bromide was confirmed. Metham sodium was as effective as methyl bromide with no statistical significantly difference in the percentage of healthy plants. Terraclor Super-X and Trichoderma koningii were equal in effectiveness and differed significantly from the two chemicals mentioned above. Plants treated with Trichoderma koningii showed better quality characteristics.