Abstract
PurposeRhizospheric soil fungi are critical for plant and soil health. However, their multiple functional traits and impact on plant growth have not been systematically explored.MethodsDuring this study, biochemical traits of 73 indigenous soil fungal isolates and 15 unidentified isolates related to plant growth promotion and production of extracellular enzymes were studied.ResultsForty four (65.67%) of the total isolates produced indole acetic acid (IAA) followed by siderophore (52.23%), phosphate solubilization (37.31%), and antibiotic (11.93%). 91.04% of the studied isolates produced ammonia whereas 28.35% produced organic acid. Extracellular enzyme activities of lipase, amylase, chitinase, and cellulase were detected among 95.52%, 61.11%, 35.82%, and 41.79% isolates, respectively. Based on these activities, 73 fungal isolates were categorized into different biotypes. Quantitative analysis of IAA production and phosphate solubilization was carried out for Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus isolates. Aspergillus isolates exhibited varying activities of IAA production and phosphate solubilization. Most of the Aspergillus isolates and some other fungi demonstrated multiple activities. Based on the multiple traits of selected fungal isolates, Aspergillus sp-07, Penicillium sp-03, and Rhizopus sp-02 were further evaluated in different combinations for their inoculation effect on the growth and yield of wheat under field conditions.ConclusionsThe results indicated that these isolates could be developed into bio-inoculants to enhance plant growth. The consortium of these three isolates was also found to be compatible and beneficial for plant growth.
Highlights
Fungi are an integral part of the terrestrial ecosystems and are known for their wide applications in the food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and health care industries
Rhizospheric free-living fungi used in this study Seventy-three (73) rhizospheric fungi previously isolated from the agricultural fields adjacent to Aligarh city (Northern India) and tentatively identified based on the cultural, morphological, and molecular methods were used in this study
The study included 20 distinct isolates of Aspergillus followed by Curvularia (09), Mycelia Sterillia (05), and Penicillium (03), whereas the remaining 14 genera were represented by one or two isolates
Summary
Fungi are an integral part of the terrestrial ecosystems and are known for their wide applications in the food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and health care industries. Free-living filamentous soil fungi are diverse, adaptable, and beneficial for plants They possess the extraordinary ability to degrade complex natural and synthetic organic compounds by producing a wide range of extracellular enzymes (Khalil et al 2013; Zhao et al 2014; El-Morsy et al 2017). Indigenous soil fungi produce different enzymes including amylases, proteases, lipases, pectinases, and cellulases, which are important for industrial utilization (Park et al 2017; McKelvey and Murphy 2018). These enzymes play vital roles in the soil ecosystem via nutrient turnover and maintaining soil fertility; their direct role in promoting plant growth is less explored
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