Mycorrhizal fungi isolated from Chilean orchids as biocontrollers of the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani

Phytopatogenic fungi cause severe economic losses worldwide. Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn is a pathogenic fungi affecting several crops, controlled mainly by agrochemicals. Biological control has arisen as another option for managing this pathogen. In this study, we evaluated the biocontroller potential of five orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF) isolated from terrestrial Chilean orchids on R. solani. We compared the biocontroller effect of these OMFs with that of Trichoderma harzianum Rifai in an in vitro dual culture experiment. We found that R. solani can be controlled in vitro by OMF isolated from native orchids. The OMF isolated from Chloraea virescens and C. lamellata showed the best biocontroller results, which were similar, or even higher, than with T. harzianum. Thus, OMFs could become a relevant alternative for the integral control of R. solani, contributing to the reduction in the use of agrochemicals in crops.