Growth stimulation and fruit yield improvement of greenhouse tomato plants by inoculation with Pseudomonas putida or Trichoderma atroviride: Possible role of indole acetic acid (IAA)

Five bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. fluorescens subgroup G strain 2, P. marginalis, P. putida subgroup B strain 1 and P. syringae strain 1) and three fungi (Penicillium brevicompactum, P. solitum strain 1 and Trichoderma atroviride) were evaluated to determine their promoting effect on the growth of mature healthy tomato plants grown under hydroponic conditions. P. putida and T. atroviride were shown to improve fruit yields in rockwool and in organic medium. The production or degradation of indole acetic acid (IAA) by the two microorganisms was investigated as possible mechanisms for plant growth stimulation. Both P. putida and T. atroviride were shown to produce IAA. The production of IAA by the two microorganisms was stimulated in vitro by the addition of l-tryptophan, tryptamine and tryptophol (200 μg ml−1) in the culture medium. P. putida and T. atroviride also increased the fresh weight of both the shoot and the roots of tomato seedlings grown in the presence of increasing concentrations of l-tryptophan (up to 0.75 mM). Both microorganisms showed partial degradation of IAA in vitro when grown in a minimal medium with or without sucrose. In addition, the capacity of these microorganisms to reduce the deleterious effect of exogenous IAA was investigated using tomato seedlings. The results showed that the roots of tomato seedlings grown in the presence of increasing concentrations of IAA (0–10 μg ml−1) were significantly longer when seeds were previously treated with P. putida or T. atroviride. The reduction in the detrimental effect of IAA on root elongation could be associated with a reduced ethylene production resulting from a decrease of its precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) by microbial degradation of IAA in the rhizosphere and/or by ACC deaminase activity present in both microorganisms.