biostudies-literatureUnknown15Bandara AY<i>Trichoderma</i> spp. are widely used to enhance crop growth and suppress diverse diseases. However, inconsistent field efficacy remains a major barrier to their use as a reliable alternative to synthetic pesticides. Various strategies have been investigated to enhance the robustness of their application. Here, we evaluated how <i>T. virens</i> application methods (pre-, at-, and post-transplant) affect the growth of two tomato varieties and their rhizosphere fungal and bacterial communities. Although the greatest rhizosphere abundance of <i>T. virens</i> was observed in the post-transplant application, the at-transplant application promoted tomato growth the most, indicating that greater rhizosphere abundance does not necessarily result in better tomato growth. None of the application mFrontiers in microbiology1366690https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10929717biostudies-literature<i>Trichoderma</i> application methods differentially affect the tomato growth, rhizomicrobiome, and rhizosphere soil suppressiveness against <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>.PMC10929717Kang SBandara AYfalse<i>Trichoderma</i> application methods differentially affect the tomato growth, rhizomicrobiome, and rhizosphere soil suppressiveness against <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>.<i>Trichoderma</i> spp. are widely used to enhance crop growth and suppress diverse diseases. However, inconsistent field efficacy remains a major barrier to their use as a reliable alternative to synthetic pesticides. Various strategies have been investigated to enhance the robustness of their application. Here, we evaluated how <i>T. virens</i> application methods (pre-, at-, and post-transplant) affect the growth of two tomato varieties and their rhizosphere fungal and bacterial communities. Although the greatest rhizosphere abundance of <i>T. virens</i> was observed in the post-transplant application, the at-transplant application promoted tomato growth the most, indicating that greater rhizosphere abundance does not necessarily result in better tomato growth. None of the application m2024-01-01T00:00:00Z20242026-07-14T23:49:41.321Z2025-04-06T14:32:31.209ZS-EPMC109297173847694710.3389/fmicb.2024.1366690