Rhizosphere essentially harbours native bioagents that are beneficial to plants growth and development, stress tolerance and competitive advantage over its rivals. The bioagents often exhibits multiple mechanisms including secretion of secondary metabolites, phytohormones and defense enzymes to offer such advantages to the host plants. Stem rot and false smut caused by Sclerotium hydrophilumand Ustilaginoidea virensrespectively, are two major constraints in India and other countries where rice is cultivated. There are reports on the critical role of microbial phytohormones viz., ABA and SA, IAA, GA, zeatin on growth and stress of plants. They play a role in the regulation of plant immune responses by eliciting induced systemic resistance (ISR) in host plants against invading pathogens. Accordingly, we studied the activity of native bioagents viz., Trichoderma asperellum strain TAIK 1, Bacillus cabrialesii strain BIK3, Pseudomonas putida strain PIK1 and Pseudomonas otitidis strain POPS1 on enhancement of plant growth, increase in defence enzymes and reduction in severity of stem rot and false smut diseases of rice. We followed the Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method for the analysis of the phytohormones viz., IAA, GA, Zeatin, SA and ABA released by the bioagents. Bioagents treated plants showed 100% germination, enhanced plant growth parameters and reduction in percent disease index like 20.98% (stem rot), 23.14% (false smut) over the control plants (70.01% for stem rot and 75.24% for false smut). Our study indicated a direct relationship between the number and intensity of phytohormones released by the bioagents and the plant growth and disease suppression in rice.
Soil is a crucial component for plant growth, as it provides water, nutrients, and mechanical support. Various factors, such as crop cultivation, microflora, nutrient addition, and water availability, significantly affect soil properties. Maintaining soil health is important, and one approach is the introduction of native organisms with multifaceted activities. In this study, the effects of four native microbes (Trichoderma asperellum strain TAIK 1, Bacillus cabrialesii strain BIK3, Pseudomonas putida strain PIK1, and Pseudomonas otitidis strain POPS1) and their consortia on soil health, plant growth, and the incidence of stem rot disease caused by Sclerotium oryzae in rice are evaluated. Upon bioagent treatment of soil through seed treatment or soil application, variations in chemical properties of the soil were observed, viz., pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Organic Carbon (OC), available Soil Nitrogen (SN), Soil Phosphorus (SP), Soil Potassium (SK), and soil enzymes (urease, acid and alkaline phosphatase, dehydrogenase), compared to untreated soils. The treated seeds with the consortia of four native bioagents resulted in a significant increase in plant height (39.16%), number of panicles (30.29%), and average grain yield (41.36%) over control plants. Under controlled conditions, the bioagents-treated plants showed a 69.37% reduction in stem rot disease. The findings of this study indicate a positive correlation between soil properties and plant growth as well as a highly negative association with stem rot disease severity. The results suggest that using native bioagents as a management strategy can control stem rot disease and enhance crop productivity while reducing reliance on chemical interventions. These findings provide valuable insights for the development of sustainable agricultural practices that promote soil health, plant growth, and disease management.
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