Effect of Plant-Growth-Promoting Fungi on Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) in New Reclamation Land

Xuqing Li,Jingze Zhang,Ya Zhang,Dingyi Li,Jianli Yan,Bin Li,Temoor Ahmed,Hong Wang

doi:10.3390/agriculture11111036

Xuqing Li, Jingze Zhang + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111036

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Abstract

Land reclamation may expand the supply of usable land for food security. Immature soil is not suitable for plant growth and needs to be amended by the addition of organic matter and plant growth-promoting (PGP) microorganisms. However, the effects of different PGP fungi on plant growth in immature soil are largely unexplored. In order to obtain beneficial soil microorganisms with a good PGP ability in new reclamation land, 162 fungal isolates were isolated from different abandoned wastelands, four isolates of which were obtained in this study by the screening of P solubilization, siderophore production, and indole acetic acid (IAA) production. The result of this study revealed that isolate HZ123 had the highest ability to solubilize P and produce siderophores and IAA, followed by HZ23, HZ10, and HZ06. Based on the results of morphological and molecular analyses, isolate HZ06 was identified as Penicillium oxalicum, isolates HZ23 and HZ10 were identified as Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus, and isolate HZ123 was identified as Aspergillustubingensis. Furthermore, the results of in vivo PGP assays demonstrated that isolate HZ123 has a minimal negative effect on the growth of eggplant; however, the other three isolates, particularly isolate HZ06, caused the greatest increase in eggplant biomasses. Overall, these results indicate that isolate HZ06 has great potential as a PGP fungus to develop biofertilizer for application in eggplant production in immature soil from new reclamation land.

Highlights

China is the world’s most populous country, and, as such, food security is a huge problem currently facing the country
The results of this study indicate that a total of 162 fungal isolates were obtained from nine soil samples
Siderophore production four isolates on Theresults resultsof of this this study study indicate indicate that that the the four isolates differed ininIAA

Summary

Introduction

China is the world’s most populous country, and, as such, food security is a huge problem currently facing the country. With the development of urbanization and the decrease in available land resources, expanding the utilization of land resources has become an important task to ensure food security in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, China. In order to expand the available land supply, the barren mountain land and forest land in the mountainous areas of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, were reclaimed for agricultural use. Eggplant cultivation in mountainous areas has been well developed in Zhejiang Province, especially in Hangzhou, due to its various advantages. During the growth of eggplant, organic amendments, such as livestock manure, biosolids, pulp byproducts, wood residuals, and crop residues, are widely used in soil reclamation, which can modify soil physical and chemical properties and exert a great influence on heterotrophic microbial communities [2].

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