CHARACTERIZATION OF ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI IMPARTING DROUGHT STRESS TOLERANCE IN CHILLI (Capsicum annuum L.)

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Date
2019-08-08
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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES GKVK, BANGALORE
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Fungal endophytes are the microorganisms that complete their life cycle inside living plant tissue without causing any symptoms of disease. The endophytes can promote plant growth and impart ability to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, the Chilli seedlings were screened for moisture stress tolerance using Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) at different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%). The seedlings growth was reduced as the concentration of PEG increased and at 23 per cent (-0.06 MPa) concentration, 50 per cent growth was reduced. Therefore, 23 per cent concentration was used for screening the fungal isolates. There were twelve fungal isolates screened against drought in Chilli. Among the 12 isolates, the K-23 and K-26 isolates treated seedlings showed increased seedling length compared to others. These two isolates were identified by ITS region sequence as Fusarium solani (K-23) and Lasiodiplodia theobromae (K-26) and evaluated for their ability to impart drought tolerance under greenhouse conditions at three levels of field capacity (100 %, 80 %, 60 % FC). The results indicated that the endophytes treated plants showed significantly increased plant height, number of leaves, number of branches. In addition, the endophytes inoculated plants showed increased leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content and proline content under moisture stress. The study suggested that the endophytes inoculation can impart tolerance to drought stress and improve plant growth.
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