Potencial do fungo Aspergillus niger como promotor de crescimento de mudas de hortaliças

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of the fungus Aspergillus niger as a growth promoter of vegetable seedlings. The experiment was carried out in a 2 x 2 + 1 factorial scheme, with two doses of conidia (102 and 106 per plant) applied in two inoculation methods, seed treatment and in-furrow granular application, and an uninoculated control. The application was carried out on the day of planting, and the experiment conducted in greenhouse in substrate based on coconut fiber. Seven vegetables were evaluated in independent experiments, capable of providing a high spectrum of response to the fungus potential. The growth parameters evaluated were shoot length, stem diameter, root volume, fresh shoot mass, fresh root mass, shoot dry mass, root dry mass, total dry mass, and total root length. Regardless of dose and inoculation method, the seedlings treated with A. niger showed higher growth than the untreated ones for all crops. The largest relative increase promoted by the fungus was observed for the aerial part of the analyzed crops, increasing the production of the fresh shoot mass of lettuce (61%), kale (40%), scarlet eggplant (101%), watermelon (38%), melon (16%), pepper (92%) and tomato (42%). The results observed in the present study show that A. niger boosts the growth of all analyzed crops, presenting as a promising bio-input for horticultural crops.