Biotization of highbush blueberry with ericoid mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi improves plant growth and vitality.

ABSTRACT

Ecological methods are becoming increasingly popular. One of these methods is plant biotization. In our paper, we focus on selection of Vaccinium corymbosum hairy root-inhabiting fungi for plant growth promotion in a single microorganism inoculation setup and then composed a multiorganismal inoculum enriched with a representative of another group of fungi, leaf endophytes. The hairy roots of V. corymbosum hosted 13 fungal taxa. In single inoculation of the plant with fungal strains, the most beneficial for plant growth were Oidiodendron maius and Phialocephala fortinii. Additional inoculation of the plants with three root symbiotic fungi (O. maius, Hymenoscyphus sp. and P. fortinii) and with the endophytic fungus Xylaria sp. increased plant height in laboratory experiments. On a semi-industrial scale, inoculation improved plant biomass and vitality. Therefore, the amendment of root-associated fungal communities with a mixture of ericoid mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi may represent an alternative to conventional fertilization and pesticide application in large-scale blueberry production. KEY POINTS • O. maius and P. fortinii significantly stimulated V. corymbosum growth in a single inoculation. • Multimicroorganismal inoculum increased plant biomass and vitality. • Blueberry biotization with ericoid and endophytic fungi is recommended.