Trichoderma strains application in promoting rooting of Schlumbergera cactus
1 CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Via dei Fiori 8, 51012 Pescia, PT, Italy.
2 Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Salita Sperone 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Research Article
World Journal of Biology Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 2023, 15(02), 057–066.
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjbphs.2023.15.2.0335
Publication history:
Received on 23 June 2023; revised on 30 July 2023; accepted on 02 August 2023
Abstract:
The aim of this work is to evaluate and deepen knowledge on the use of Trichoderma to stimulate the vegetative growth and rooting of plants. In this case, a trial was carried out on cuttings of Schlumbergera, a genus of cactus that is very important from an ornamental point of view but that presents numerous difficulties in the process of rooting in substrate, where cuttings often rot due to excess humidity or die due to the attack of pathogenic fungi. The trial started in March 2021 and lasted for ten months in the CREA greenhouses in Pescia, Italy. The experimental trial showed a significant effect on the rooting of Schlumbergera cuttings and on all agronomic parameters assessed on the plants in cultivation, following treatment in the growing medium with Trichoderma spp. The cuttings treated with the fungi in fact showed an increase in root weight and length, vegetative weight, number of new shoots and flowers, floral life, and a significant reduction in mortality of the treated cuttings. These results show how Trichoderma, in addition to its activity as an antagonist of pathogenic fungi, can increase the rooting and growth of plants and the production and duration of flowers, particularly on plant species where there is often little information. This experimentation may be of particular interest for cactus and succulent growers, since there is no research in the literature on biological propagation methods for these plants.
Keywords:
Beneficial microorganisms; Cactus plants; Microbial biofertilizers; Ornamental plants; Roots stimulation
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