Use of Piriformospora indica to Promote Growth of Strawberry Daughter Plants

Abstract

As an endophytic fungus, the growth-promoting effects of Piriformospora indica have been widely confirmed in many of its host plants. In this study, we investigated the influences of P. indica colonization on the growth of the daughter plants of two strawberry cultivars, ‘Benihoppe’ and ‘Sweet Charlie.’ The results showed that the fungus colonization significantly promoted the growth of the daughter plants of both of the two strawberry varieties. Its colonization greatly improved almost all of the growth parameters of the ‘Benihoppe’ daughter plants, including the above-ground fresh weight, above-ground dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight, plant height, petiole length, leaf area, number of roots and chlorophyll content. However, the fungus colonization showed significant improving effects on only the above-ground fresh weight, root fresh weight and root dry weight of ‘Sweet Charlie.’ Surprisingly, the average root length of ‘Benihoppe’ and ‘Sweet Charlie’ was suppressed by about 14.3% and 24.6%, respectively, by P. indica. Moreover, after P. indica colonization, the leaf nitrate reductase activity and root activity upregulated by 30.12% and 12.74%, and 21.85% and 21.16%, respectively, for the ‘Benihoppe’ and ‘Sweet Charlie’ daughter plants. Our study indicated that P. indica could promote the growth of strawberry daughter plants by improving rooting, strengthening photosynthetic pigments production and nutrient absorption and accelerating biomass accumulation. The fungus shows great potential to be used in the strawberry industry, especially in the breeding of daughter plants.

Piriformospora indica Enhances Resistance to Fusarium wilt in Strawberry by Increasing the Activity of Superoxide Dismutase, Peroxidase, and Catalase, While Reducing the Content of Malondialdehyde in the Roots

“…This, in turn, promotes an increase in strawberry biomass. Research has demonstrated that the root system of strawberry plants becomes 25% shorter after P. indica inoculation [36]. However, the present study did not find a significant change in root length.…”

Serendipita indica Promotes the Growth of Tartary Buckwheat by Stimulating Hormone Synthesis, Metabolite Production, and Increasing Systemic Resistance

“…It was proved that the plant-growth promoting effect of S. indica was achieved by increasing the length and number of roots [18,42]). Previous research has also shown that colonization of S. indica can increase the root length, root area, and root weight of plants such as strawberries [15], bananas [28], and longans [20]. While favorable effects of the root-endophytic fungus S. indica on a wide range of plant species has been reported, we demonstrated its potential plant-growth promoting effect on Tartary buckwheat.…”

“…Studies showed that it had the ability to simulate typical arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) [12,14]. Colonization by S. indica has been reported to help in increasing crop yield [15][16][17], promote host plant growth, improve crop quality [18][19][20], stimulate the accumulation of plant metabolites [21], and enhance resistance to host plant stresses [22][23][24][25][26]. Since the discovery of S. indica, research into their growth-promoting effects on plants and on their ability to enhance the stress resistance of host plants has been continuously developing.…”

The Influence of Piriformospora indica Colonization on the Root Development and Growth of Cerasus humilis Cuttings

“…In addition, fungi can also form mycorrhizae in symbiosis with plant roots, promoting the growth of both aboveground and underground parts, providing additional moisture and nutrients, and enhancing plant photosynthetic capacity, which is of great significance to agricultural production and the balance of plant ecosystems [ 27 ]. Currently, P. indica is widely discussed as a beneficial fungus in plants such as strawberry [ 7 ], longan [ 10 ], and rice [ 11 ]. Studies have shown that the growth parameters of barley [ 28 ], king grass [ 29 ], ryegrass [ 30 ], tobacco [ 31 ], African chrysanthemum [ 32 ], and maize [ 33 ] colonized by P. indica are higher than those of non-inoculated controls.…”

“…These improvements include increased plant height and root proliferation, as well as higher fresh and dry weights. Additionally, there is a significant upregulation observed in strawberry leaf nitrate reductase activity, photosynthetic pigment content, and root vigor [ 7 ]. In tomato plants, inoculation with P. indica can not only promote the growth of TYLCV-resistant tomato ‘T07-4’ roots but also significantly increase the aboveground biomass and total biomass of susceptible tomato ‘T07-1’; meanwhile, cherry tomatoes inoculated with P. indica have significantly enhanced fruit quality, yield, and storage time after harvest [ 8 ].…”