ISSN 2167-0447
Advances in Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2756-326X Vol. 12 (4), pp. 001-012, April, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Integrated use of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Fungi, Biochar and Kale biofumigation against Fusarium Wilt of Tomato caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici
Bawen T. Kiplagat1* Chebet K. Daniel1 and Chiveu C. Josiah1
1University of Eldoret, School of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Department of Seed, Crop and Horticultural Sciences, P.O. Box 1125 - 30100, Eldoret, Kenya. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Received 16 November; 2025; Revised 22 December, 2025; Accepted 24 December, 2025; Published 14 April, 2026
Tomato wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL), is one of the most destructive and economically important fungal disease, resulting in significant yield loss ranging between 10%-90%. The disease is primarily managed using chemical fungicides, which are not always sustainable. The present study focused on evaluating eight treatments comprising of the individual and combined effect of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), biochar, and kale biofumigation on the inhibition of two isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in vitro. The experiment was conducted in a split-plot arrangement using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications in the Plant Pathology laboratory, Department of Seed, Crop, and Horticultural Sciences, University of Eldoret, Kenya. Potato dextrose agar (PDA) was used for fungal growth. Tomato tissues were surface-sterilized and plated to obtain pure cultures of FOL using the single-spore technique. Two isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici were obtained from tomato plants showing wilt disease symptoms, namely FOL 1 and FOL 2. AMF was obtained from the commercial inoculant Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (RHIZATECH TM), biochar obtained from the seedballs company, Kenya, and the kale variety Ahadi was used for biofumigation. The interaction of AMF and FOL isolates was carried out using dual culture, food poison technique for biochar, sandwich-plate assay for kale biofumigation and modified assay for the combined applications. AMF, Glomus sp. was isolated by wet sieving and decanting technique. The antifungal efficacy of biochar was evaluated by mixing it with PDA media at 1% (w/w) prior to autoclaving. Kale leaves were macerated and incorporated as biofumigant. The inhibition was determined based on the reduction in the radial mycelial growth. The findings from in vitro experiments indicated that application of AMF, biochar, and kale biofumigation, alone and in combinations, suppressed the mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici isolates. However, the degree of inhibition was isolate dependent. In the individual application, AMF alone had the highest inhibition in FOL1 with a value of 50.83%, followed by kale (43.74%). Triple combination of AMF, biochar, and kale biofumigation was the most potent, with the highest inhibition across the two isolates of 64.07% in FOL 1 and 52.12% in FOL 2, respectively. The findings of this study reveal the potential of integrating AMF, biochar and kale biofumigation as a viable and eco-friendly alternative to chemical fungicides in the management of tomato Fusarium wilt, contributing to a more sustainable integrated disease management, potentially reducing the reliance on chemical products and improving the agricultural productivity.
Keywords: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, Tomato, Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Fungi, Biochar, biofumigation & in vitro.