Tracking and plant growth-promoting effect of Paraburkholderia tropica MTo-293 applied to Solanum lycopersicum.

Paraburkholderia tropica MTo-293 was applied as an experimental bio-input to Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) cv. Platense. Different plant growth systems and inoculation strategies were tested to evaluate P. tropica plant colonization at the seedling stage (growth chamber) using culture-dependent and -independent techniques. The effect of P. tropica on plant growth was evaluated in the growth chamber and greenhouse (productive stage) by biomass accumulation and fruit production, respectively. P. tropica was able to colonize the surface and inner root and stem of tomato seedlings regardless of the inoculation strategy-at sowing and/or before transplanting-showing the competitive nature of P. tropica in nonsterile substrate systems. A nested polymerase chain reaction was validated to track P. tropica in tomato plants even in the inner stem with endophytic P. tropica populations of less than 102 CFU g-1 of fresh weight. Efficient colonization of P. tropica correlated with a positive effect on tomato growth when applied at sowing and/or before transplanting: plant growth promotion was observed not only at the seedling stage but also at productive stages improving crop yield in two different seasons. To our knowledge, this report is the first to track and evaluate the plant growth-promoting effect of P. tropica MTo-293 in tomato plants grown in nonsterile substrate systems.

Plant Growth Promotion Activity of Keratinolytic Fungi Growing on a Recalcitrant Waste Known as "Hair Waste".

Purpureocillium lilacinum (Thom) Samsom is one of the most studied fungi in the control of plant parasitic nematodes. However, there is not specific information on its ability to inhibit some pathogenic bacteria, fungi, or yeast. This work reports the production of several antifungal hydrolytic enzymes by a strain of P. lilacinum when it is grown in a medium containing hair waste. The growth of several plant-pathogenic fungi, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium culmorum, was considerably affected by the presence of P. lilacinum's supernatant. Besides antifungal activity, P. lilacinum demonstrates the capability to produce indoleacetic acid and ammonia during time cultivation on hair waste medium. Plant growth-promoting activity by cell-free supernatant was evidenced through the increase of the percentage of tomato seed germination from 71 to 85% after 48 hours. A 21-day plant growth assay using tomato plants indicates that crude supernatant promotes the growth of the plants similar to a reference fertilizer (p > 0.05). These results suggest that both strain and the supernatant may have potential to be considered as a potent biocontrol agent with multiple plant growth-promoting properties. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the antifungal, IAA production and tomato growth enhancing compounds produced by P. lilacinum LPSC #876.