| Sumario: | In tomato crops in southern Europe and North Africa, the zoophytophagous predator
Nesidiocoris tenuis is widely used as a biological control agent. However, this predator also
feeds on the tomato plant, which under certain circumstances, results in plant damage (flower
abortion, necrotic rings and apical desiccation). Recently the use of certain endophytic fungi in
tomatoes has been shown to reduce the damage caused by N. tenuis. In this work, the effect of
using the soil-borne beneficial fungus Trichoderma harzianum and N. tenuis (individually and
combined) in tomato plants was studied under three water stress levels (regular, light and
moderate stress). Our results showed that the greater the water stress, the more damage caused
by N. tenuis. The inoculation of T. harzianum improved the resistance of the tomato against
water stress. Interestingly, in the treatments where N. tenuis was established in plants inoculated
with T. harzianum; the incidence of N. tenuis damage was lower than in plants without
T. harzianum. These results show the benefit of combining both biological control agents in a
global context of climate change, where water stress management will be essential.
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