African Journal of
Agricultural Research

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Agric. Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1991-637X
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJAR
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 6901

Article in Press

Investigation of the biological activity of a polyfunctional preparation from Endo- and Exomycorrhizal fungi in horticulture

Maria V. Kabargina, Tatiana A. Nugmanova, Leonid A. Kabargin, Tatiana G. Mukhamedzhanova and Elena F. Shanenko

  •  Received: 30 November -0001
  •  Accepted: 24 May 2024
Without inhibiting measures on intense development, the global population will increase up to 15 billion people by 2100. It is only possible to provide this number of people with food through intensified industrial agriculture together with loss minimization. A decisive role in solving this problem belongs to biotechnology, namely biopreparations which can protect plants against pests, diseases, and stimulate plant growth. A whole range of biopreparations has been presented for this purpose: bioinsecticides, biofungicides, and biofertilizers. There is no all-purpose preparation, which could be used for a diversity of types and varieties of plants and soils. However, we can increase efficiency and provide a whole bunch of advantages by developing a complex microbiological polyfunctional preparation, which supports a significant increase in plant productivity, as well as a number of other parameters of their growth and development. Following this objective, we conducted a series of studies aimed at meaningful improvement of the biological and polyfunctional activities of the biopreparation. With this view, we studied the biological activity of the Trichoderma ectomycorrhizal fungi, as well as endomycorrhizal fungi isolated from sea buckthorn roots. These fungi's properties were tested in a laboratory setting. After their purification and identification, they were used to work out cultivation conditions, the composition of nutrient media was optimized, and prototypes of a complex biological product with polyfunctional properties were developed. The biological activity of the preparation was tested on a vegetable crop (cucumbers) under cover, and on grain crops under field conditions. We studied the preparation's properties, which are responsible for its high productivity as a result of the increase of leaf apparatus area, root volume, productive stems, reducing the period to technical ripeness by 1,5–2 weeks, improvement of growth indicators, chlorophyll content, resistance to fungal diseases, increase of fruit weight, volume of salable produce, reduction of pesticide and fungicide doses to the point of their absence. Upon the test results, we revealed a possibility to increase cucumber yield in the first crop by 46,4–55,9%, and in the second crop by 13,8–15,7%. We found an increase in the amount of cucumber seeds by 38 and 22%, accordingly, of the salable produce by 21%, and harvesting 1.5 weeks earlier.

Keywords: biotechnology, ectomycorrhiza, endomycorrhizal, crop yield, fungi, biopreparation