*3.3. E*ff*ects of TA and TS Treatment on Germination and Vigour Index*

The results from the in vitro application of TA and TS spores to tomato and pepper seeds are outlined in Table 3. No significant effects on pepper and tomato seed germination percentages were observed in either treatment. However, the application of both *Trichoderma* isolates led to a decrease in the radicle and hypocotyl length (growth) parameters and significantly decreased the SVI in peppers. The tomato seed vigour index was not affected by TA or TS treatment (*p* = 0.1918).


**Table 3.** Effects of *T. aggressivum* f. *europaeum* and *T. saturnisporum* on tomato and pepper seed germination 7 and 10 days after treatment, respectively.

Different letters indicate significant differences according to the one-way ANOVA test (*p* = *0.05*).

#### *3.4. E*ff*ects of Trichoderma Inoculation on Tomato and Pepper Seedlings*

The effects of TA and TS application on morphological parameters and DQI are shown in Table 4. Unlike the results from the direct application of both *Trichoderma* to the seeds, the application to the substrate increased the study parameters compared to that of the control, and the results were better in peppers than in tomatoes, with better quality seedlings, according to the DQI values (Figure 3). There were no significant differences after the application of TA and TS in both horticultural plants. The increased percentage assessed in pepper seedlings for each species (TA/TS) was 8%/8.5% for stem length, 12.32/~0.01 for stem diameter, 7.77/5.5 for leaf number, 22.22/25 for shoot dry weight, 36.36/63.63 for root dry weight and 13.83/13.74 for leaf area, respectively. In tomato seedlings, the percentages were 9/6 for stem length, 0.5/1.5 for stem diameter, 6/8.8 for leaf number, 12.5/5.3 for shoot dry weight, 0/–6.6 for root dry weight and 8/9.2 for leaf area. No significant differences in DQI were found in tomato seedlings for any treatment applied with respect to that of the control.

**Figure 3.** (**A**) Differential growth of pepper seedlings with *T. aggressivum* f. *europaeum* (TA), compared to control. (**B**) Tomato plants grown under field transplantation conditions (60 days).
