Stimulating microorganisms in the cultivation and improvement of vegetable plants

Research objective: In this study, the possibility of using different microbial types inoculated into the growing medium was evaluated in order to assess the growth-promoting potential of certain vegetable species.

Materials and Methods: The plants were grown in pots under controlled conditions; 30 seedlings per thesis, divided into 3 replications of 10 plants each, were planted in early November 2023. The plants used in the trial were Cichorium intybus and Allium ampeloprasum. All plants were fertilised with a slow-release fertiliser (2 kg m-3 of Osmocote Pro® for 6 months) introduced into the growing medium at the time of transplanting. The six experimental groups in cultivation were: i) group without microorganisms, irrigated with water and previously fertilised substrate; ii) group with Pacilomyces lilacinus; iii) group with Azospirillum sp.; iv) group with Glomus sp.; v) group with Trichoderma viride; vi) group with mix Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas sp. and Trichoderma viride. On 11 January 2024, plant height, number of leaves, total leaf area per plant (mm²), primary root length (mm), biomass of the aerial and root system, and number of dead plants were recorded.

Results and Discussion: The experiment showed that the use of microbial strains of various types can indeed significantly improve the vegetative and root growth of Cichorium intybus and Allium ampeloprasum. All treatments showed a significant improvement over the untreated control for the agronomic parameters analysed, but the Azospirillum sp. and Glomus sp. treatments were statistically the best. Improvements were also found in plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, vegetative and root biomass and root length. A very interesting aspect was also the ability of the microbial products to reduce plant mortality, particularly the application of Trichoderma viride in Cichorium intibus and all microbial treatments on Allium ampeloprasum.

Conclusions: This experiment highlights other interesting and innovative aspects of the use of microorganisms, which have already been highlighted in previous trials on various vegetable and ornamental species. Given the importance of the application of microbial inoculums in plants, the new agricultural experiments are very important because they could enable the development of new products to be used in organic and sustainable farming systems and enable better results.