Abstract
The use of biostimulant (BS) holds a promising and environmental-friendly innovation to address current needs of sustainable agriculture. The aim of the present study is twofold: (i) assess the potential of durum wheat seed coating with microbial BS (‘Panoramix’, Koppert), a mix of Bacillus spp., Trichoderma spp., and endomycorrhiza, compared to two chemical products (‘Spectro’ and ‘Mycoseeds’) through germination bioassay, pot and field trials under semi-arid conditions, and (ii) identify the most effective method of BS supply (‘seed coating’, ‘foliar spray’, and ‘seed coating + foliar spray’) under field conditions. For this purpose, three modern durum wheat cultivars were tested. ‘Panoramix’ was the most efficient treatment and enhanced all germination (germination rate, and coleoptile and radicle length), physiological (relative water content, chlorophyll content, and leaf area), and agro-morphological (plant height, biomass, seed number per spike, thousand kernel weight, and grain yield) attributes. Unexpectedly, the individual application of ‘Panoramix’ showed better performance than the combined treatment ‘Panoramix + Spectro’. Considering the physiological and agro-morphological traits, the combined method ‘seed coating + foliar spray’ displayed the best results. Principal component analysis confirmed the superiority of ‘Panoramix’ treatment or ‘seed coating + foliar spray’ method. Among tested durum wheat cultivars, ‘Salim’ performed better especially under ‘Panoramix’ treatment, but in some case ‘Karim’ valorized better this BS showing the highest increase rates. Based on these study outcomes, ‘Panoramix’ might be used as promising sustainable approach to stimulate durum wheat performance.
Highlights
Various agricultural approaches can be used within an integrated farming system to increase grain yield as well as quality, and alleviate stress-induced limitations
This has been attributed to the production of more effective metabolites and spore forming character of Bacillus spp., which increases the viability of cells in commercially formulated products
The present study aims to assess (i) the effect of a BS, a microbial consortium of Bacillus spp., Trichoderma spp., and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, on germination, physiological and agro-morphological attributes under different experimental conditions (Petri dish, pot, and field trials), (ii) the effectiveness of three supply methods of BS under field conditions, and (iii) the genotypic response of three modern durum wheat cultivars to BS treatment and supply methods
Summary
Various agricultural approaches can be used within an integrated farming system to increase grain yield as well as quality, and alleviate stress-induced limitations. The use of agricultural biostimulants (BSs) has emerged as a valid alternative to agrochemicals and to indirectly sustain plant growth and productivity [1]. Bacillus-based bio-fertilizers are more active compared to Pseudomonas-based fertilizers [5]. This has been attributed to the production of more effective metabolites and spore forming character of Bacillus spp., which increases the viability of cells in commercially formulated products. The plant-beneficial Bacillus spp. associate with roots or rhizosphere and develop biofilms, allow the assembly of cells embedded in a matrix composed of exopolysaccharides and proteins which indirectly protect plants by inducing systemic resistance and increase plant growth and final yield [6]
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