Open Access

ARTICLE

Effects of Rhizoglomus intraradices, Azospirillum brasilense and plant growth regulators application on root architecture in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Zepeda-Guzmán S¹, M Gómez-Romero², C Sosa-Aguirre¹, J Villegas¹

1 Instituto de Investigaciones Químico-Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Francisco J. Mújica s/n, Colonia Felícitas del Rio, C.P. 58030, Morelia, Michoacán, México.
2 Cátedras CONACYT-Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Francisco J. Mújica s/n, Colonia Felícitas del Rio, C.P. 58030, Morelia, Michoacán, México.
Address correspondence to: Dr. Javier Villegas, Instituto de Investigaciones Químico-Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Francisco J. Mujica s/n, Colonia Felícitas del Rio, C.P. 58030, Morelia, Michoacán, México, e-mail: vilj4455@yahoo.com.mx

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2018, 87(all), 183-190. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2018.87.183

Abstract

Changes in root architecture are a strategy used by plants to explore the soil for available resources. The presence of beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere as well as plant growth regulators can cause changes in root development and promote the availability of water and nutrients. The effect of microorganisms or growth regulators on plant growth has been tested, but little is known about the effect they have on the architecture of the root of Hordeum vulgare L. Therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Rhizoglomus intraradices, Azospirillum brasilense, quercetin and epibrassinolide, alone or in combination, on the root architecture and plant (shoot + root) biomass of barley. The experiment was conducted in a growth chamber and a rhizotron system was used as a case study to assess the root architecture. Each of the barley seeds that germinated in the rhizotrons was inoculated with 70 spores of R. intraradices or 2.5 x 10⁷ CFU/mL of A. brasilense in a 1 mL suspension. Quercetin and/or epibrassinolide were applied in 5 mL of solution at a concentration of 10 μM, at 0, 5 and 8 days. The results showed that the growth promoter epibrassinolide affected barley root architecture by increasing the number, but decreasing the length, of seminal roots. It also promoted the early onset of lateral roots. Quercitin, applied alone or combined, had a significant effect to increase the number of lateral roots. Although changes were observed in the architecture of the root, barley biomass did not show significant differences in this evaluation period. The application of microorganisms did not produce significant changes in the variables evaluated.

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