Endophytic seed pretreatment: a strategy for boosting morphophysiological traits in tomato seedlings.

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effects of fungal (Penicillium chrysogenum, Thielavia basicola, Curvularia hawaiiensis) and bacterial (Sphingomonas aquatilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Exiguobacterium aurantiacum, Micromonospora echinaurantiaca, Kocuria rhizophila) endophytes on the growth and physiological traits of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under greenhouse conditions. Both individual and combined endophyte treatments significantly enhanced key growth parameters, including stem weight, height, and dry weight, with notable synergies observed in fungal-bacterial combinations such as P. chrysogenum + E. aurantiacum and S. aquatilis + M. echinaurantiaca. These combinations also optimised photosynthetic activity, increasing chlorophyll content, carotenoids, and photosystem II efficien

SUBMITTER: Dargiri SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11849283 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature