Stimulation Impact of Rhizospheric Microbe’s Glomeromycota AM Fungi and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria on Growth, Productivity, Lycopene, Β-Carotene, Antioxidant Activity and Mineral Contents of Tomato beneath Field Condition Cultivated in Western Ghats Covering Semi-Arid Region of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The rhizosphere is the slim region of soil that’s directly influenced by root secretions and accompanying soil microorganisms known as root microbiome. The rhizosphere involving the soil pores comprises numerous beneficial bacterium and others different microorganisms. Microbial communities play a vital role within the functioning of plants by stimulating their morphology, physiology and development. Several species of the rhizosphere microorganism are helpful to plant growth and overall productivity. The useful plant-microbe associations within the rhizosphere are the principal determinants of plant and soil health (SH). Rhizobacteria comprise mycorrhization helper microorganism and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are support arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) to colonize the plant roots. Tomato is the second most common cultivated vegetable within the world for biological process and functions. Tomato has high values in soluble fat, vitamin A, B, C, lycopene, flavonoids, and β-carotene and is of course low in calories. Tomato consumption are extremely useful to human health (HH) because of several crucial nutrients are accessible. In current study, the impact of inoculating tomato with consortium AM fungi and PGPR on growth, fruit quality and productivity was estimated. The inoculated AM fungi are containing Aculospora logula-15%, Glomus fasciculatum-20%, Glomus intraradices-40%, Gigaspora margarita-15% and Scutellospora heterogama-10% infective propagules in inoculum. The consortium PGPR treatments were inoculated with Azotobacter chroococcum, Pseudomonas fluoresces and Fraturia aurantia (10-9CFU/g) and also the Control [100% Recommended Rate of fertilizers (RRF)] treatment was without microbial inoculated. Phyto-morpho-chemical factors, containing Lycopene, β-carotene, antioxidant activity, growth, fruit yield, fruit potassium (K) and macro and micro nutrients uptake in shoot were improved by AM fungi and PGPR mediated tomato as compared with control (100% RRF). Maximum lycopene, β-carotene, fruit K and antioxidant activity (AA) were recorded in plants treated with multiple biostimulants of AM fungi + PGPR treatment. Maximum height, biomass and marketable yield were observed in AM fungi + PGPR treated plants and minimum in control (100% RRF). A correlational statistics between lycopene, β-carotene, AA with fruit and shoot K (P