Application of <i>Trichoderma harziunum</i> T22 as a biofertilizer supporting maize growth

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Trichoderma harzianum strain (T22) on the growth and development of maize (Zea mays) plants. T. harzianum was applied to the grains in two different treatments. The first one was performed by inoculating the soil with the air dried growth of the tested fungus in three different levels (2, 4 and 6 g kg^-1) before sowing. The second treatment was conducted by treating the seeds with different concentrations of metabolic solution of T. harzianum (100, 200 and 300 μl) before sowing time. We compared these two types of treatments to determine which one has more benefit for improving the growth of maize plants. Results obtained revealed that the application of T. harzianum caused increases in all measured parameters which include growth parameters, chlorophyll content, starch content, nucleic acids content, total protein content and phytohormones content of maize plants, when applied to the soil or the seeds but the magnitude of these increases was much more pronounced in case of plants developed from seeds treated with various concentrations of metabolic solution of T. harzianum. The sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacryalmide gel electrophresis (SDS-PAGE) electrophoretic pattern of proteins extracted from maize leaves revealed the appearance of newly protein bands. It was concluded that the uses of T. harzianum improves the growth and development of maize plants.

Keywords: Trichoderma, maize, growth-promoting effect, resistance response, inoculum, phytohormones, protiens (SDS-PAGE)