Bacterial wilt in bananas, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum or Moko, limits crop production and threatens
Ecuador. This study evaluated Trichoderma isolates in laboratory conditions as an innovative alternative to
ensure sustainability in banana production. The four R. solanacearum. isolates were obtained from banana
plants exhibiting disease symptoms and were characterized through morphological and biochemical tests. Four
treatments were evaluated: three isolates of fungi from the genus Trichoderma (Trichoderma viride, T. harzianum, T. asperellum) and one consisting of a combination of the three isolates above. The inhibitory capacity
of the Trichoderma isolates on R. solanacearum colonies was measured. A completely randomized design
with three replicates was used, and general linear and mixed models were employed, with qq-plot graphs for
normality and residual plots for variance homogeneity.
Furthermore, a Fisher's LSD test was conducted at a significance level of α = 0.05. In the biochemical tests,
the bacterial isolates exhibited specific characteristics of R. solanacearum in two bacterial isolates. In the
inhibition tests, treatment four and treatment one (consortium of the three Trichoderma isolates and Trichoderma viride) showed the highest inhibitory potential, with 76.07% and 61.19%, respectively. The consortium
of Trichoderma isolates demonstrated the highest inhibitory potential against R. solanacearum, with day 10
being the time with the highest percentage of inhibition (72.61%).
Keywords: Bacterial wilt, Ralstonia solanacearum, Trichoderma, inhibition