Foliar Spraying with Endophytic Trichoderma Biostimulant Increases Drought Resilience of Maize and Sunflower

András Csótó, György Tóth, Péter Riczu, Andrea Zabiák, Vera Tarjányi, Erzsébet Fekete, Levente Karaffa and Erzsébet Sándor ()
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András Csótó: Institute of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
György Tóth: Institute of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Péter Riczu: KITE Zrt., H-4181 Nádudvar, Hungary
Andrea Zabiák: Institute of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Vera Tarjányi: Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Erzsébet Fekete: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Levente Karaffa: Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Erzsébet Sándor: Institute of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: Microbial biostimulants that promote plant growth and abiotic stress tolerance are promising alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Although Trichoderma fungi are known biocontrol agents, their biostimulatory potential has been scarcely studied in field conditions. Here, the mixture of two endophytic Trichoderma strains ( Trichoderma afroharzianum TR04 and Trichoderma simmonsii TR05) was tested as biostimulant in the form of foliar spray on young (BBCH 15-16) maize (5.7 ha) and sunflower (5.7 and 11.3 ha) fields in Hungary. The stimulatory effect was characterized by changes in plant height, the number of viable leaves, and the chlorophyll content, combined with yield sensor collected harvest data. In all trials, the foliar treatment with Trichoderma spores increased photosynthetic potential: the number of viable leaves increased by up to 6.7% and the SPAD index by up to 19.1% relative to the control. In extreme drought conditions, maize yield was doubled (from 0.587 to 1.62 t/ha, p < 0.001). The moisture content of the harvested seeds, as well as sunflower height, consistently increased post-treatment. We concluded that foliar spraying of young plants with well-selected endophytic Trichoderma strains can stimulate growth, photosynthesis, and drought tolerance in both monocot maize and dicots sunflower crops in field conditions.

Keywords: Trichoderma afroharzianum; Trichoderma simmonsii; drought tolerance; chlorophyll content; maize yield; fungal biostimulant; foliar spray (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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