The Beneficial Effect of Thermochemical Organic Fertilizer and Root Endophytic Fungi on the Growth of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Aim: To study the effect of thermochemical organic fertilizer (TOF) inoculated with beneficial root endophytes on the growth attributes of tomatoes grown in a nursery. Combined impact of TOF and endophytic fungi like Piriformospora indica and Glomus species on tomato growth parameters such as plant height, shoot length, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, fresh root weight, dry root weight, root volume and root area were assessed. Study Design: The experiment was conducted through a completely randomized design with six treatments and 3 replications Place and Duration of Study: The protray experiment was conducted at the Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani , Kerala Agricultural University between August 2021- September 2021 Methods: Sterilized tomato seeds were sown in portrays filled with different media. Potting mixture containing soil and coir pith compost was taken as a control treatment. Other treatments were TOF with additions of endophytic fungi like Piriformospora indica (P.indica), Glomus fasciculatum, Glomus mussaea and mixed glomus in TOF. Biometric observations like plant height, shoot length, fresh weight of shoot, dry weight of shoot, fresh weight of root, root dry weight of shoot, root surface area and root volume were observed twenty eight days after sowing. Results: Inoculation with P. indica as well as Glomus sp in the medium of TOF improved plant growth compared to the uninoculated soil medium. Among all plant growth parameters analyzed, the maximum values were obtained in plants grown in a medium of TOF+ P. indica. With respect to root fresh weight, there was no significant difference between treatments of TOF + P. indica and TOF+ other Glomus species including G. fasciculatum and G. mossaea. TOF treated with P .indica and G. fasciculatum outperformed as best in the case of root dry weight compared to all other treatments. Conclusion: Beneficial root endophytes like Piriformospora indica and Glomus sp grown in thermochemical organic fertilizer were found to have greater potential in promoting the growth of tomato plants in the nursery.