Screening of Plant Growth Promoting Fungi (PGPF) for Sustainable Cultivation of Tulaipanji, an Endemic Aromatic Rice Variety of Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Background: Rice is one of the major staple crops of human population. Worldwide escalating human populace exerts pressure to increase rice production. To fulfill the demand, the injudicious application of chemical fertilizers is posing grave threat to the environment together with the entire living population. A suitable replacement of these harmful fertilizers is needed in modern agriculture to keep the biodiversity undisturbed. The main objective of the study is to screen and explore indigenous plant growth promoting fungi which can replace the conventional fertilizers. Methods: Rhizospheric soil of different rice cultivating fields were collected in the year 2018. Different in vitro assays of the fungal isolates obtained from the soil were performed to check their plant growth promotion capabilities. Result: 20 different indigenous fungal isolates were studied to evaluate their ability as PGPF for organic cultivation of Tulaipanji, an endemic aromatic rice variety cultivated in Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India. Trichoderma harzianum TaK12 and Trichoderma aureoviride TaN16 were found to enhance maximum shoot and root length of rice plant. These two isolates also showed efficacy in phosphate solubilization. Trichoderma aureoviride TaN16 together with Penicillium citrinum PcK10 and Aspergillus niger AnK1 produced high amount of IAA. The results obtained from the study clearly indicate that these plant growth promoting fungi (PGPF) possess the ability to boost up plant growth.