plants Article Crude Citric Acid of Trichoderma asperellum: Tomato Growth Promotor and Suppressor of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar 1, WesamEldin I. A. Saber 2,* , Khalid M. Ghoneem 3, Elsayed E. Hafez 4 and Amira A. Ibrahim 4,* 1 Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
[email protected] 2 Microbial Activity Unit,Microbiology Department, Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ID: 60019332), Giza 12112, Egypt 3 Seed Pathology Research Department, Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center (ID: 60019332), Giza 12112, Egypt;
[email protected] 4 Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, New Borg El-Arab, Alexandria 21934, Egypt;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] (W.I.A.S.);
[email protected] (A.A.I.); Tel.: +020-111-173-1062 (W.I.A.S.); +020-106-667-7539 (A.A.I.) Abstract: Presently, the bioprocessing of agricultural residues to various bioactive compounds is of great concern, with the potential to be used as plant growth promoters and as a reductive of various diseases. Lycopersicon esculentum, one of the most consumed crops in the human diet, is attacked by Fusarium wilt disease, so the main aim is to biocontrol the pathogen. Several fungal species were isolated from decayed maize stover (MS). Trichoderma asperellum was chosen based on its organic acid Citation: Al-Askar, A.A.; Saber, productivity and was molecularly identified (GenBank accession number is MW195019). Citric acid W.I.A.; Ghoneem, K.M.; Hafez, E.E.; (CA) was the major detected organic acid by HPLC.