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

Agnieszka Jamiołkowska, Barbara Skwaryło-Bednarz, Władysław Michałek

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 F1’) infected with the pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum coccodes. 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 (Fv/Fm), 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.

Keywords


tomato seedlings; brown root rot; mycorrhizal fungi; disease index; photosynthetic activity of seedlings

Full Text:

PDF

References


Dillard HR. Colletotrichum coccodes: the pathogen and its hosts. In: Bailey JA, Jeger MJ, editors. Colletotrichum: biology, pathology and control. Wallingford: CABI; 1992. p. 225–236.

Alm IP, Uhm KH, Kim S, Lee YH. Signaling pathways involved in preinfection development of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. coccodes, and C. dematium pathogenic on red pepper. Physiol Mol Plant Pathol. 2003;63:281–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2004.01.001

Jamiołkowska A, Skwaryło-Bednarz B, Patkowska E. Morphological identity and population structure of hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum coccodes colonizing pepper plants. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Hortorum Cultus. 2018;17(4):181–192.

Jamiołkowska A, Księżniak A, Hetman B, Kopacki M, Skwaryło-Bednarz B, Gałązka A, et al. Interactions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi with plants and soil microflora. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Hortorum Cultus. 2017;16(5):89–95. https://doi.org/10.24326/asphc.2017.5.9

Jamiołkowska A. Effect of field pea (Pisum arvense L.) as cover plant on health of under-ground part of field tomato. Vegetable Crops Research Bulletin. 2007;67:71–79. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10032-007-0032-6

Jamiołkowska A, Wagner A, Sawicki K. Fungi colonizing roots of zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L. var. giromontina) plants and pathogenicity of Fusarium spp. to zucchini seedlings. Acta Agrobot. 2011;64(1):73–78. https://doi.org/10.5586/aa.2011.009

Wenzel H. Zur Erfassung des Schadenausmasses in Pflanzenschutzversuchen. Pflanzenschutz-Berichte. 1948;15:81–84.

Księżniak A, Orlikowsk LB, Szałański W, Wróblewska B. Wpływ szczepionek mikoryzowych dla wrzosowatych na wzrost, rozwój i zdrowotność różanecznika odmiany Nova Zembla oraz borówki amerykańskiej odmiany Bluecrop. Progress in Plant Protection. 2013;53(1):191–195.

Pereira JAP, Vieira IJC, Freitas MSM, Prins CL, Martins MA, Rodrigues R. Crops and soils review. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on Capsicum spp. J Agric Sci. 2016;154:828–849. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859615000714

Jamiołkowska A, Księżniak A, Gałązka A, Hetman B, Kopacki M, Skwaryło-Bednarz B. Impact of abiotic factors on development of the community of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi in the soil. Int Agrophys. 2018;32:133–140. https://doi.org/10.1515/intag-2016-0090

Nitzan N, Tsror (Lahkim) L, Johnson DA. Vegetative compatibility group and aggressiveness of North American isolates of Colletotrichum coccodes, the causal agent of potato black dot. Plant Dis. 2006;90(10):1287–1292. https://doi.org/10.1094/PD-90-1287

Głuszek S, Sas-Paszt L, Sumorok B, Derkowska E. Wpływ mikoryzy na wzrost i plonowanie roślin ogrodniczych. Postępy Nauk Rolniczych. 2008;6:14–15.

Cieślińska K, Skalska A, Cisek D, Krzyżak J, Pogrzeba M. Mikoryza arbuskulama wybranych gatunków roślin energetycznych uprawianych na terenie zanieczyszczonym metalami ciężkimi. Interdyscyplinarne Zagadnienia w Inżynierii i Ochronie Środowiska. 2016;7:13–28.

Shariati J, Weisany W, Torabian S. Effect of Azotobacter and arbuscular mycorrhizal on growth of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) at different irrigation regimes. Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities. 2015;18(4):01.

Kubiak J. Wpływ różnych szczepionek mikoryzowych na wzrost sosny i liczbę pączków. Inżynieria Rolnicza. 2007;3(91):123–128.

Golcz A, Bosiacki M. Reakcja tymianku właściwego (Thymus vulgaris L.) na wzrastające dawki azotu oraz zabieg szczepienia grzybami mikoryzowymi. Journal of Research and Applications in Agricultural Engineering. 2008;53(3):72–74.

Jamiołkowska A, Michałek W. Effect of mycorrhiza inoculation of pepper seedlings (Capsicum annuum L.) on the growth and the protection against Fusarium oxysporum infection. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum, Hortorum Cultus. 2019;18(1):161–169.

Ozgonen H, Erkilic A. Growth enhancement and Phytophthora blight (Phytophthora capsici Leonian) control by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation in pepper. Crop Prot. 2007; 26(11):1682–1688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2007.02.010

Lambais MR. Regulation of plant defense-related genes in arbuscular mycorrhizae. In: Podila GK, Douds DD Jr, editors. Current advances in mycorrhizae research. St. Paul, MN: American Phytopathological Society Press; 2000. p. 46–60.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5586/aa.1785

Journal ISSN:
  • 2300-357X (online)
  • 0065-0951 (print; ceased since 2016)
This is an Open Access journal, which distributes its content under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, provided that the content is properly cited.
The journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aims to follow the COPE’s principles.
The journal publisher is a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association.
The journal content is indexed in Similarity Check, the Crossref initiative to prevent scholarly and professional plagiarism.
Publisher
Polish Botanical Society