Figure 1. Experimental procedure used for in vivo analysis of systemic defense in tomato plants.

Five-week-old tomato plants (F0) were transplanted following a split-root system designed experiment and treated with Trichoderma atroviride T11 (Ta) and/or Meloidogyne javanica (Mj) in the following way: i) (w/w) the two root system halves treated with sterile water (control); ii) (w/Ta) one root system half treated with Ta; iii) (w/Mj) one root system half treated with Mj; iv) (Ta/Mj) one root system half treated with Ta and the other half with Mj; and v) (w/Ta + Mj) one root system half with treated with Ta plus Mj. F1 plants, derived from the corresponding F0 treatment, were inoculated with Mj when they were 21-days old. See Methods for more details.