<i>Pseudozyma aphidis</i> Enhances Cucumber and Tomato Plant Growth and Yield
2022
Idan Shoam | Claudia E. Calderon | Maggie Levy
The need to supply food for a growing world population, while protecting the environment by using sustainable agriculture, presents a major challenge, in terms of decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The application of <i>Pseudozyma aphidis</i> cells onto crop plants considerably reduced infection by several pathogens, as well as significantly enhancing plant growth and yield. It was demonstrated in the current work that <i>P. aphidis</i> can enhance cucumber and tomato growth, both in vitro and in the greenhouse. <i>P. aphidis</i> was active when applied either via spray treatment or by seed coating. A significant promotion effect of <i>P. aphidis</i> on tomato and cucumber growth, flowering, and tomato yield and ripening, as compared to control plants, was demonstrated. Specifically, a 10–30% increase in tomato and cucumber plant height and leaf number, a 45% increase in average fruit weight, a 120% increase in tomato fruit ripening, and a flowering time advanced by two weeks were demonstrated. In conclusion, <i>P. aphidis</i> can significantly enhance the growth and yield of crop plants and can, thus, be used as bio-fertilizer.
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