Open Access

ARTICLE

Comparative Effectiveness of Rhizophagus irregularis and Compost vs. Conventional Chemical Fertilizers in Managing Verticillium dahliae: A Sustainable Agriculture Approach

by Fatima-Ezzahra Soussani^1,2,3, Youssef Ait Rahou^1,2,4, Chayma Ikan^1,2, Allal Douira³, Rachid Benkirane³, Essaid Ait Barka⁵, Rachid Lahlali^6,*, Abdelilah Meddich^1,2,7,*

1 Centre d’Agrobiotechnologie et Bioingénierie, Unité de Recherche labellisée CNRST (Centre AgroBiotech-URL-CNRST-05), Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, 40000, Morocco
2 Laboratory of Agro-Food, Biotechnologies and Valorization of Plant Bioresources (AGROBIOVAL), Department of Biology, Faculty of Science Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University (UCA), Marrakech, 40000, Morocco
3 Plant, Animal Productions and Agro-Industry Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, B.P. 133, Kenitra, 14000, Morocco
4 Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Ministry of Health, Ouarzazate, 45000, Morocco
5 Unité de Recherche Résistance Induite et Bioprotection des Plantes, Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, USC 1488, Reims, 51100, France
6 Department of Plant Protection, Phytopathology Unit, Ecole Nationale d’Agriculture de Meknès, Meknès, 50001, Morocco
7 African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Laayoune, 70000, Morocco

* Corresponding Authors: Rachid Lahlali. Email: ; Abdelilah Meddich. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2024, 93(9), 2415-2438. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2024.055050

Received 14 June 2024; Accepted 27 August 2024; Issue published 30 September 2024

Abstract

This study assesses the effectiveness of using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (M) and compost applied alone or in combination (vs. conventional chemical fertilizer application (NPK)) on tomato resistance to vascular wilt caused by Verticillium dahliae. In this study, ten treatments were applied: (1) Control (2) M: Rhizophagus irregularis (3) C: Compost (4) MC: The combination of M and compost (5) NPK: conventional chemical fertilizer (6) V: plants infected with V. dahliae (7) MV: plants infected with a conidial suspension of V. dahliae and M, (8) CV: The combination of compost and V. dahliae, (9) MCV: The combination of M, compost and V. dahliae, (10) VNPK: V. dahliae and NPK. The combination of biostimulants reduced disease severity and incidence, as well as the leaf alteration index compared to control plants (V). However, the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) and final mean severity (FMS) were reduced by 37% and 46% respectively by the application of the combination of M, compost and V. dahliae (MCV) compared to the V control. Additionally, the MCV treatment showed the greatest increment in protein content (152.6%), in TSS content (54.6%), and CV increased proline content by 46.6%. Furthermore, MCV also protected the photosynthetic apparatus from pathogen-induced oxidative stress and reduced the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO) (215.03%), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) (74.73%) and peroxidase activity (POX) (101.91%). MC also enhanced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities by 166.19% compared to their controls (V). M alone or in combination with compost, remains a favourable interaction for suppressing plant diseases and improving antioxidant defense systems.

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Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

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