Consórcio de cinco fungos promovendo o crescimento vegetal e a colonização micorrízica arbuscular na soja

Abstract

With population growth and agricultural expansion, the use of micro-organisms beneficial to the plant has increasingly become an environmentally friendly alternative to the intensive use of agricultural inputs. Plant Growth Promoting Fungi (PGPF) has effects on a wide variety of crops, promoting plant growth and combating pests and diseases. In this work, it is hypothesized that PGPF stimulate root colonization by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), which improves plant nutrition. In this sense, the present work studied the effects of a fungal consortium composed of five PGPF (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Pochonia chlamydosporia, Purpureocillium lilacinum and Trichoderma asperella) on the arbuscular mycorrhizal growth and colonization of soybean (Glycine max L. Merril). The inoculated and non-inoculated soybean seeds were cultivated in a greenhouse, with six replicates in a completely randomized design. The means of the variables were submitted to the Tukey test (p <0.05) and to the analysis of variance to verify the significant effects of the treatment. Inoculation of the fungal consortium significantly increased the dry and fresh biomass of soybean roots and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization compared to non-inoculated soybean. These results are probably due to PGPF induction of the production of phytohormones important for the development of the roots, and by stimulating the production of exudates that help the symbiosis between the AMF and the roots of the plants. Thus, the fungi studied in this work are able to promote the growth of soybean roots, and to benefit arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. These effects may result in a greater absorption of water and nutrients, increasing the productivity and reducing the need for the use of agrochemicals and fertilizers in soybean.