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
Abstract
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.