Novel Approach to Use Coconut Fibre Mats Embedded with Trichoderma harzianum as Precision Bio-control Agent

The growing demand for sustainable agriculture has intensified interest in biological alternatives to synthetic inputs. Trichoderma harzianum , a plant growth-promoting fungus, offers both biocontrol and stimulation of plant development, while organic mulching materials such as coconut fibre mats improve soil structure, conserve moisture, regulate temperature, and enhance microbial activity. This study assessed the combined effect of T. harzianum application with coconut fibre mulching on tomato crop growth and yield through a field trial with three treatments: T1 –foliar spraying of T. harzianum , T2 – root-zone application using T. harzianum -inoculated coconut fibre mats, and T3 – untreated control, arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Plant height, fruit yield, and disease incidence were measured, showing that T2 significantly enhanced growth (95.0 ± 3.58 cm) compared to T1 (69.0 ± 8.47 cm) and T3 (41.0 ± 11.33 cm), while fruit yield in T2 reached 470 kg ha⁻¹, representing a 276% increase over control (125 kg ha⁻¹) and higher than T1 (224.7 kg ha⁻¹, a 79.6% increase). Disease incidence was also lowest in T2 (10%) compared with T1 (16%) and T3 (30%), confirming a synergistic effect between root-zone T. harzianum colonisation and soil health benefits of mulching. Although restricted to a single growing season, predictive models such as the crop water production function (CWPF) and water footprint analysis indicated that mulching increased reliance on rainwater, reduced groundwater withdrawal, and improved efficiency under variable temperature and rainfall. Overall, this integrated microbial–mulch approach demonstrates a sustainable, eco-friendly strategy to boost tomato productivity and conserve natural resources.