Plant Growth Promoting Efficacy of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from the Terrestrial Plants of North India

Abstract

Enhanced crop health, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture, is facilitated by a unique endophyte or endophytic community that is frequently linked to a variety of crops. Plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics of endophytes can directly or indirectly boost crop growth. Endophytic fungi have been proven to create a high percentage of new compounds, making them a particularly potential source of physiologically active chemicals. In this study, we have isolated two endophytic isolates, i.e., Paecilomyces sp. (Isolate AT1) and Aspergillus flavus (Isolate AT3), from different host plants, namely Melaleuca citrine and Carica papaya. These endophytes have shown significant plant growth-promoting potential toward different assays such as IAA production, phosphate solubilization, amylase production, cellulose-degrading assay, and ammonia production. These endophytic fungi also exhibit visible antimicrobial action towards selected crop pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp.). Additionally, these fungal strains are reported for the first time from these plants, as we have found no reports in the literature. The research aims to explore the growth-promoting efficacy of endophytic fungi to boost plant growth.