Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions
Increasing drought, under current climate change scenarios, will reduce the sustainability of tomato cultivation in the Mediterranean region. The present study evaluates the effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> inoculation on tomato plant physiology and yield in response to progress...
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MDPI AG
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/1/71 |
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| author | Alessandra Fracasso Luca Telò Luisa Lanfranco Paola Bonfante Stefano Amaducci |
| author_facet | Alessandra Fracasso Luca Telò Luisa Lanfranco Paola Bonfante Stefano Amaducci |
| author_sort | Alessandra Fracasso |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasing drought, under current climate change scenarios, will reduce the sustainability of tomato cultivation in the Mediterranean region. The present study evaluates the effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> inoculation on tomato plant physiology and yield in response to progressive water deficit conditions. Two commercial products (Prod1 and Prod2) containing only <i>R. intraradices</i> were tested at two different concentrations (1% and 5% of the substrate volume) using three methods of inoculation: (a) mixed to substrate, (b) dissolved in water, (c) spread on seedlings root blocks before transplant. The highest mycorrhization of root fragments (F%) was found with Prod2 at 1% <i>w</i>/<i>w</i> at 40 days after sowing (DAS); this product was therefore used in a second experiment to inoculate tomato plants and test their physiological response to progressive water deficit induced withholding irrigation. Phenology, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll content and fluorescence, whole canopy gas exchange, biomass production and partitioning and phosphorus content were investigated in inoculated and not inoculated tomato plants under well-watered and water stressed conditions. Vegetative period and plant height were shorter in inoculated than in control plants; moreover, inoculation with <i>R. intraradices</i> increased fruit production by enhancing chlorophyll content under water stress condition, PS2 efficiency, ETR, F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>, net photosynthetic rate and whole canopy WUE. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T13:55:29Z |
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| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T13:55:29Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-f41fafdb50fb49eeb0344fb083f5a5a62022-12-21T19:38:27ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952020-01-011017110.3390/agronomy10010071agronomy10010071Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit ConditionsAlessandra Fracasso0Luca Telò1Luisa Lanfranco2Paola Bonfante3Stefano Amaducci4Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, ItalyDepartment of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Viale P.A. Mattioli 25, 10125 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Viale P.A. Mattioli 25, 10125 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, ItalyIncreasing drought, under current climate change scenarios, will reduce the sustainability of tomato cultivation in the Mediterranean region. The present study evaluates the effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> inoculation on tomato plant physiology and yield in response to progressive water deficit conditions. Two commercial products (Prod1 and Prod2) containing only <i>R. intraradices</i> were tested at two different concentrations (1% and 5% of the substrate volume) using three methods of inoculation: (a) mixed to substrate, (b) dissolved in water, (c) spread on seedlings root blocks before transplant. The highest mycorrhization of root fragments (F%) was found with Prod2 at 1% <i>w</i>/<i>w</i> at 40 days after sowing (DAS); this product was therefore used in a second experiment to inoculate tomato plants and test their physiological response to progressive water deficit induced withholding irrigation. Phenology, plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll content and fluorescence, whole canopy gas exchange, biomass production and partitioning and phosphorus content were investigated in inoculated and not inoculated tomato plants under well-watered and water stressed conditions. Vegetative period and plant height were shorter in inoculated than in control plants; moreover, inoculation with <i>R. intraradices</i> increased fruit production by enhancing chlorophyll content under water stress condition, PS2 efficiency, ETR, F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>, net photosynthetic rate and whole canopy WUE.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/1/71tomatoarbuscular mycorrhizal fungiprogressive water deficitwhole canopy gas exchangenet photosynthetic ratewater use efficiencythreshold of fraction of transportable soil wateretr |
| spellingShingle | Alessandra Fracasso Luca Telò Luisa Lanfranco Paola Bonfante Stefano Amaducci Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions Agronomy tomato arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi progressive water deficit whole canopy gas exchange net photosynthetic rate water use efficiency threshold of fraction of transportable soil water etr |
| title | Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions |
| title_full | Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions |
| title_short | Physiological Beneficial Effect of <i>Rhizophagus intraradices</i> Inoculation on Tomato Plant Yield under Water Deficit Conditions |
| title_sort | physiological beneficial effect of i rhizophagus intraradices i inoculation on tomato plant yield under water deficit conditions |
| topic | tomato arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi progressive water deficit whole canopy gas exchange net photosynthetic rate water use efficiency threshold of fraction of transportable soil water etr |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/1/71 |
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