Response of tomato seedlings inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi on the photosynthetic activity, growth, and health status of plants after infection with the fungus Colletotrichum coccodes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of mycorrhizal fungi (MF) on the photosynthetic activity, growth, and health status of tomato seedlings (‘Pelikan F<sub>1</sub>’) infected with the pathogenic fungus <em>Colletotrichum coccodes</em>. A commercial mycorrhizal inoculum (Mycoflor, Poland) containing spores and dormant mycelium of MF was used in the experiment. It was carried out in a growth chamber where 1-week-old seedlings were inoculated with 3 mL of mycorrhizal inoculum applied into the soil. Three-week old mycorrhized and nonmycorrhized tomato seedlings were infected with the pathogenic fungus. Seedlings planted in sterile horticultural soil without the mycorrhizal inoculum constituted an absolute control. The growth, disease index, and photosynthetic activity of the plants were measured after 4 weeks. There was no significant effect of the mycorrhiza on the photosynthetic parameters analyzed. However, it was noted that the mycorrhized and pathogen-infected seedlings had higher maximum quantum yield of PSII (F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>), higher effective quantum yield (Y) and more favorable photochemical (qP) and nonphotochemical fluorescence quenching (qN) coefficients than did the pathogen-infected seedlings. The experiment showed that the mycorrhizal commercial inoculum had varied effects on the health status of tomato seedlings depending on the pathogenic fungus isolate. Mycorrhiza did not have a significant effect on the length of roots and stems, whereas the roots inoculated with MF were better developed than those infected with the pathogenic fungus. It can be assumed also that not only the pathogen but also the mycorrhiza is a stress factor towards the seedlings and affects the growth performance parameters mentioned above.