The growth of tomato seedlings inoculated with co-cultivated Piriformospora indica and Bacillus pumilus

Abstract

A novel co-culture method using the beneficial root endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica and a plant-growth promoting rhizobacterial strain of Bacillus pumilus to promote the growth of tomato seedlings in plug trays, is described. Coconut water, a waste product from the coconut industry, was used as medium for co-cultivation of the two biological agents. During the co-culture with the fungus, the bacterial strain showed a similar growth rate to that in monoculture in fresh autoclaved coconut water. In contrast, co-culture in potato dextrose broth (PDB), a medium routinely used for cultivation of the endophytic fungus, did not support bacterial growth. Inoculation with the co-culture or a mixture of P. indica and B. pumilus promoted tomato seedling growth significantly when compared with individual application of the two biological agents. No difference was observed with respect to the degree of root colonization in tomato seedlings whether it was done with a monoculture or a co-culture with rhizobacterium. The co-culture system developed reduces the cost of inoculum production as it uses coconut water, a cheap and locally available waste product and a single fermentation vessel. Further research is required to know the endophytic nature of the rhizobacterial strain and its possible role in helping the fungus in root colonization.

Co‐inoculation ofBacillussp. andPseudomonas putidaat different development stages acts as a biostimulant to promote growth, yield and nutrient uptake of tomato

“…Anith et al . () also reported that inoculation with B. pumilus improved the plant growth compared to the uninoculated control (Anith et al . ).…”

“…() also reported that inoculation with B. pumilus improved the plant growth compared to the uninoculated control (Anith et al . ). Inoculation of rice seedlings with B. pumilus increased the leaf K + , Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ concentrations, while decreasing the Na + uptake as compared to the uninoculated control (Khan et al .…”

“…Co-inoculation with three and four microbes (see Table 1) produced the highest healthy fruit yield, without the appearance of visible disease symptoms. Accordingly, Anith et al (2015) showed that co-inoculation of tomato plants with Piriformospora indica and B. pumilus was more efficient than single inoculation for improving plant growth in tomato. It has also been shown that dual inoculation of Enterobacter with Serratia marcescens or Microbacterium arborescens produced significantly higher straw yield and grain yield of wheat than single inoculations (Kumar et al 2017).…”

Biocontrol Potential of Fungal Endophytes against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum Causing Wilt in Cucumber

“…The plants inoculated only with pathogen spore suspension FOC were termed as positive control. After 24-h plants were transferred to the greenhouse for 1–2 weeks for disease development as described by Kim et al (2001) and Anith et al (2015). This individual experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Design with five replications and the whole experiment was repeated two times.…”

Growth Promotion in Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) on Inoculation with Co-cultured Piriformospora indica and Pseudomonas fluorescens

“…For this coconut water collected from a local coconut processing unit was filtered using muslin cloth to avoid dirt and debries.100ml of it was transferred to a 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask, the pH was adjusted to 6.5 and the solution was sterilized by Autoclaving at 121 °C for 20 minute. For preparing CWA, 2% agar was added before autoclaving (Anith et al, 2015). (Anith et al, 2015).…”