Efficacy of single and combined application of &lt;em&gt;Trichoderma&lt;/em&gt; spp. and &lt;em&gt;Pseudomonas fluorescens&lt;/em&gt; along with bio-fertilizer (Arbuscular Mycorrhizae - AM) on growth of nursery plants of black pepper (&lt;em&gt;Piper nigrum&lt;/em&gt; L.)

R D Kodithuwakku,I S Kumari,W M R W B Wijekoon,D P P De Silva

doi:10.4038/sljfa.v2i1.26

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate different combinations of bio-fertilizer and biocontrol agents on the vegetative growth of nursery plants of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.). Treated plants showed a significantly higher (p<0.05) leaf area, shoot height, root volume, shoot dry weight and root dry weight compared to the untreated control. The highest leaf area of 244.47 cm2 was recorded in black pepper plants treated with Trichoderma sp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens while the lowest (118.82 cm2) was recorded in the untreated control. The highest root volume was recorded in plants treated with Trichoderma spp. The highest shoot height, shoot dry weight and root dry weight were found in plants treated with P. fluorescens. Results showed that the combination of above three organisms has not shown a significant impact on growth (p>0.05) than that of the respective individuals. As certain biological control agents may mechanistically be incompatible, one strain may interfere with the mechanism of the other. Hence, only the mixtures composed of mechanistically compatible strains can give better results in biocontrol and bio-fertilizer activities. The results of the experiment confirmed that black pepper plants treated with different biocontrol agents and bio-fertilizer showed a higher vegetative growth in the plant nursery.

Highlights

Among different strategies used for plant growth promotion, biological approaches are useful and an ominous choice
The highest leaf area of 244.47cm2 was recorded black pepper plants treated with Trichoderma sp. and P. fluorescens while the lowest (118.82 cm2) was recorded in the un-treated control
The highest shoot height, shoot dry weight and root dry weight were found those treated with P. fluorescens

Summary

Introduction

Among different strategies used for plant growth promotion, biological approaches are useful and an ominous choice. Fungi in the genus Trichoderma have been known since early 1920s for their ability to act as biocontrol agents against plant pathogens. These fungi colonize the root epidermis and outer cortical layers and release bioactive molecules that cause walling off of the T. thallus. The transcriptome and the proteome of plants are substantially altered (Harman,‎2006). In addition to induction of pathways for resistance in plants, increased plant growth and nutrient uptake would occur. At least in maize, the increased growth response is genotype specific, and some maize in-breds have responded negatively to some strains (Harman, ‎2006)

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