Abstract
The use of biostimulants with plant growth-promoting properties, but without significant input of nutrients, is discussed as a strategy to increase stress resistance and nutrient use efficiency of crops. However, limited reproducibility under real production conditions remains a major challenge. The use of combination products based on microbial and non-microbial biostimulants or microbial consortia, with the aim to exploit complementary or synergistic interactions and increase the flexibility of responses under different environmental conditions, is discussed as a potential strategy to overcome this problem. This study aimed at comparing the efficiency of selected microbial single-strain inoculants with proven plant-growth promoting potential versus consortium products under real production conditions in large-scale tomato cultivation systems, exposed to different environmental challenges. In a protected greenhouse production system at Timisoara, Romania, with composted cow manure, guano, hair-, and feather-meals as major fertilizers, different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium products, showed very similar beneficial responses. Nursery performance, fruit setting, fruit size distribution, seasonal yield share, and cumulative yield (39–84% as compared to the control) were significantly improved over two growing periods. By contrast, superior performance of the microbial consortia products (MCPs) was recorded under more challenging environmental conditions in an open-field drip-fertigated tomato production system in the Negev desert, Israel with mineral fertilization on a high pH (7.9), low fertility, and sandy soil. This was reflected by improved phosphate (P) acquisition, a stimulation of vegetative shoot biomass production and increased final fruit yield under conditions of limited P supply. Moreover, MCP inoculation was associated with selective changes of the rhizosphere-bacterial community structure particularly with respect to Sphingobacteriia and Flavobacteria, reported as salinity indicators and drought stress protectants. Phosphate limitation reduced the diversity of bacterial populations at the root surface (rhizoplane) and this effect was reverted by MCP inoculation, reflecting the improved P status of the plants. The results support the hypothesis that the use of microbial consortia can increase the efficiency and reproducibility of BS-assisted strategies for crop production, particularly under challenging environmental conditions.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Single strain and consortium inoculants had similar beneficial responses in greenhouse tomato production.
- Taxon
- Tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium productse0
- Outcome
- very similar beneficial responsese0
- Direction
- very similare0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium products, showed very similar beneficial responses”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculants significantly improved nursery performance, fruit setting and fruit size distribution over two growing periods.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium productse1
- Outcome
- Nursery performance, fruit setting, fruit size distributione0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nursery performance, fruit setting, fruit size distribution, seasonal yield share, and cumulative yield (39–84% as compared to the control) were significantly improved over two growing periods”
e1“different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium products, showed very similar beneficial responses”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculants significantly improved seasonal yield share and cumulative yield by 39–84% versus control.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium productse1
- Outcome
- seasonal yield share, and cumulative yielde0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 39–84%e0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nursery performance, fruit setting, fruit size distribution, seasonal yield share, and cumulative yield (39–84% as compared to the control) were significantly improved over two growing periods”
e1“different fungal and bacterial single-strain inoculants, as well as microbial consortium products, showed very similar beneficial responses”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Microbial consortium products performed better under challenging open field conditions in the Negev desert.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- microbial consortia products (MCPs)e0
- Outcome
- performancee0
- Direction
- superiore0
- Setting
- Negev desert, Israele0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“superior performance of the microbial consortia products (MCPs) was recorded under more challenging environmental conditions in an open-field drip-fertigated tomato production system in the Negev desert, Israel”
Claim · model-written summary
Microbial consortium products improved phosphate (P) acquisition under limited phosphorus supply.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- microbial consortia products (MCPs)e1
- Outcome
- phosphate (P) acquisitione0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Qualifier
- limited P supplye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“improved phosphate (P) acquisition, a stimulation of vegetative shoot biomass production and increased final fruit yield under conditions of limited P supply”
e1“microbial consortia products (MCPs)”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Microbial consortium products stimulation vegetative shoot biomass production under limited phosphorus supply.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- microbial consortia products (MCPs)e1
- Outcome
- vegetative shoot biomass productione0
- Direction
- stimulatione0
- Qualifier
- limited P supplye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“improved phosphate (P) acquisition, a stimulation of vegetative shoot biomass production and increased final fruit yield under conditions of limited P supply”
e1“microbial consortia products (MCPs)”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Microbial consortium products increased final fruit yield under limited phosphorus supply.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- microbial consortia products (MCPs)e1
- Outcome
- final fruit yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- limited P supplye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“improved phosphate (P) acquisition, a stimulation of vegetative shoot biomass production and increased final fruit yield under conditions of limited P supply”
e1“microbial consortia products (MCPs)”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
MCP inoculation was associated with selective changes in tomato rhizosphere bacterial communities.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MCP inoculatione0
- Interactor
- Sphingobacteriia and Flavobacteriae0symbiont
- Outcome
- rhizosphere-bacterial community structuree0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“MCP inoculation was associated with selective changes of the rhizosphere-bacterial community structure particularly with respect to Sphingobacteriia and Flavobacteria”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
Phosphate limitation reduced bacterial diversity on the tomato rhizoplane.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Phosphate limitatione0
- Outcome
- diversity of bacterial populations at the root surface (rhizoplane)e0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phosphate limitation reduced the diversity of bacterial populations at the root surface (rhizoplane)”
t0“Tomato Production”
Claim · model-written summary
MCP inoculation reversed the phosphate limitation effect on rhizoplane bacterial diversity.
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- MCP inoculatione0
- Outcome
- diversity of bacterial populations at the root surface (rhizoplane)e1
- Direction
- revertede0
- Comparator
- Phosphate limitatione1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“this effect was reverted by MCP inoculation”
e1“Phosphate limitation reduced the diversity of bacterial populations at the root surface (rhizoplane)”
t0“Tomato Production”
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