Abstract
The influence of spore concentration on the ability of a Trichoderma consortium to colonize the Passiflora caerulea phyllosphere was evaluated by determining the effects of foliar treatments with two spore concentrations, in two repeated treatments, on the morphological, physiological, and ultrastructural characteristics, and on the yield and quality of P. caerulea. The studied crop quality features were related to its nutraceutical use: the accumulation of polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and effects on mouse fibroblast L929 cells. The Trichoderma consortium consisted of two strains, T. asperellum T36b and T. harzianum Td50b, and the concentrations used were 106 colony forming units (cfu)/mL and 108 cfu/mL. As a reference treatment, a commercial product that was based on herbs and algal extracts was used. As compared to the negative control, the treatment with the Trichoderma consortium at 108 cfu/mL concentration determines the accumulation of higher level of polyphenols and flavonoids and increased antioxidant activity. This enhancement of P. caerulea quality characteristics after treatment with the higher concentration of Trichoderma consortium was associated with larger leaves, increased number and size of chloroplasts, improved plant physiology characteristics, and an increased yield. The treatment with high concentration of Trichoderma consortium spores promotes phyllosphere colonization and benefits both crop yield and quality.
Highlights
Plant-beneficial fungi from the Hypocrea/Trichoderma genera are among the most widespread microorganisms used in agriculture [1]
A consortium formed of two strains from the INCDCP-ICECHIM collection, T. asperellum T36 National Collection of Agricultural and Industrial Microorganisms (NCAIM) F 001434 and T. harzianum, Td50b, NCAIM F001412 was used as the microbial plant biostimulant
Maceration in Et(OH)–water 70% (v/v) solution was chosen for the extraction of polyphenols and flavonoids from dried and ground aerial parts of P. caerulea, in accordance with our previous work, in which we found that this method recovered the highest concentration of polyphenols and flavonoids from this passion plant material [73]
Summary
Plant-beneficial fungi from the Hypocrea/Trichoderma genera are among the most widespread microorganisms used in agriculture [1]. The multifaceted actions of plant-beneficial Trichoderma strains are determined by several mechanisms, which are mainly related to antagonism against plant pathogens [9] or activation of plant defence [10]. Such multifunctional strains produce hydrolases with lytic effects on plant pathogens [11] and/or that release specific oligosaccharide elicitors (damage-associated molecular patterns; DAMPs) from plant cell walls [12]. Trichoderma and its secondary metabolites enhance the uptake and use efficiency of macronutrients, such as nitrogen [3,16] or phosphorus [25,26], and oligo/micro-nutrients, such as iron [8,27,28] or zinc [29]
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