Devaraju, P. JSHANTHARAJA, C. S.2023-01-082023-01-082022-08-02Th-13274https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810191511Environmental stresses are limiting factors in producing quality seeds, plant endophytes known to enhance seedling vigour and plant growth. To assess the effect of endophyte bio-priming on seedling vigour and crop performance, experiments were conducted under laboratory, polyhouse and field condition in rice and pearl millet. Five fungal endophytes viz, LAS6 (Chaetomium sp.), PJ9 (Fusarium sp.), SF5 (Fusarium sp.), V4J (Botryospharia dothedia) and V6E (Fusarium sp.) isolated from plants grown in stress habitat were used. The endophyte strain V4J had shown significantly higher seedling length (42.2), seedling dry weight (12.06 mg) and seedling vigour index (SVI) I (3841), SF5 had recorded highest seedling length (24 cm) and SVI II (807) and V4J recorded increased seedling length (38.3 cm) and SVI I (3213) compared to control under normal, salinity (170 mM NaCl) and drought (17 % PEG-8000) stress in rice. Whereas, in pearl millet, V6E and PJ9 had shown higher seedling length (26.8 and 20.9 cm) under normal and salinity (160 mM NaCl) stress. In poly house condition, SF5 had recorded increased plant height (37.8 and 33.8 cm) and root length (25.8 and 27.2 cm) under unstress and salinity stress (EC:4 dS/m), under drought stress (60% FC), V4J had shown increased plant height (36.2 cm) compared to control. The endophyte strain V4J had recorded lowest Malondialdehyde content of 0.129, 0.151 and 0.159 μg/g FW under unstress, salinity and drought stress respectively. Antioxidant enzyme (catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) activity was higher in endophyte bio-primed plants under normal and stressful conditions in rice. Under field experiments, though endophyte treated plants recorded higher values but, results were found non-significant in most of the characters studied in rice. Overall the study provides endophytes isolated from different stress habitat could be used to modulate seedling growth and plant development in crop plants.EnglishThesis