Effects of Nitroxin and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the agro-physiological traits and grain yield of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) under drought stress conditions

Abstract

The use of bio-fertilizers in agro-ecosystems is considered to have the potential to improve plant growth in extreme environments featuring water shortages. However, while arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and bacteria bio-fertilizers have been used in other plants to enhance stress tolerance, little is known about their symbiotic effect on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) growth under drought stress conditions. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the inoculation of sorghum with Nitroxin and Glomus mosseae and their interaction effects on the agro-physiological characteristics and grain yield of sorghum under drought stress conditions. Nitroxin is a bio-fertilizer that consists of a mixture of Azospirillum and Azotobacter bacteria. The results showed that co-inoculation of sorghum seeds with Nitroxin and AMF improved the chlorophyll (a, b and total) content, soluble proteins, water use efficiency) WUE(, relative water content (RWC), nitrogen (N) content in the plant, AMF spore density, proline content, grain yield, panicle length, the number of panicles per plant, grain number per panicle, 1000-grain weight and decreased the electrolyte leakage and water saturation deficit (WSD) in drought stress and non-stress conditions. Under drought stress conditions, there was a 27% increase in grain yield under the synergistic effects of bacteria and fungi compared to the non-application of these microorganisms. The results of this experiment show that Nitroxin and AMF bio-fertilizers can mitigate the negative effects of stress on plants in drought stress conditions by increasing the amount of photosynthetic pigments, soluble proteins and osmotic regulation and decreasing electrolyte leakage. We found that the combination of bacteria and AMF for sorghum growth and yield increment is a promising method to cope with the stress caused by drought.

The Effect of Microbial Fertilizer on the Growth, Rhizospheric Environment and Medicinal Quality of Fritillaria taipaiensis

“…Soluble protein is an essential osmoregulation substance and nutrient in plants that can alleviate ion imbalances and physiological droughts caused by salt and drought stress [54], which is involved in the stress resistance of plants. In this study, the soluble protein content in the leaves of the treatment groups were significantly higher than that in CK group, which is consistent with the result of a previous study [49,55]. Furthermore, other studies revealed that the increase in the leaf soluble protein content of plants can be caused by the increase of nitrate reductase enzyme activity, higher nitrogen fixation, and growth hormone production through AM fungi and microbial fertilizer application [56,57].…”

“…Furthermore, other studies revealed that the increase in the leaf soluble protein content of plants can be caused by the increase of nitrate reductase enzyme activity, higher nitrogen fixation, and growth hormone production through AM fungi and microbial fertilizer application [56,57]. CAT, POD, and SOD in the plants can reduce membrane lipid peroxidation, maintaining and protecting the stability of the cell membrane structure and function [55]. In this study, the activities of CAT, POD, and SOD in the treatment groups were all significantly higher than that in CK, especially in the Mi group, which had the highest POD activity among the groups.…”

Signals and Machinery for Mycorrhizae and Cereal and Oilseed Interactions towards Improved Tolerance to Environmental Stresses

“…Moreover, AMF establish an extensive hyphal network with the plant root system, particularly fine root hairs, enhancing accessibility to a larger soil surface area and water retention. Bernardo et al [ 35 ] reported that Funneliformis mosseae -inoculated wheat exhibited improved WUE under water limitation, while Kamali and Mehraban [ 36 ] observed similar results in sorghum inoculated with Glomus mosseae . Furthermore, AMF contribute to enhanced N and P contents in maize and wheat by exploring solution-filled soil pores inaccessible to plant roots and facilitating nutrient uptake [ 34 , 37 ].…”

Sorghum-Phosphate Solubilizers Interactions: Crop Nutrition, Biotic Stress Alleviation, and Yield Optimization

“…Application of microbes-based bio-fertilizers in agro-ecosystems is beneficial for plant growth and yield enhancement in both conventional ( Kalayu, 2019 ) and extreme environments ( Kamali and Mehraban, 2020 ; Rizvi et al, 2020 ). Among microbial formulations, the research on PSMs impacting growth, crop nutrition, and yield of cereal crops under greenhouse/field trials are quite large ( Table 4 ).…”