Document Type : Research and Reference
Authors
1
Entomology Division, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt
2
Researcher at Vegetable Pests Department, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Sakha, Egypt.
3
Agricultural Microbiology Department, Soil, Water and Environmental Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Sakha, Egypt.
4
Vegetable Pests Department, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Sakha, Egypt.
5
Entomology Division, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt.
Abstract
Soil microorganisms can improve plant health by allowing broad-spectrum resistance of the treated plants against insect herbivores. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of four different types of biofertilizers; Azotobacter sp., Azospirillum sp., Bacillus megatherium, and Vasicular arbuscular endomycorrhizae (VAM) on the incidence and abundance of insect pests of the eggplant, Solanum melongena (L) during autumn season. The studied pests were; Bemisia tabaci, Empoasca sp., thrips tabaci, two species of aphids, Aphis gossypii (Glover) and Myzus persicae, and red mites, Tetranychus urticae (koach.). The contents of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Pottasium (NPK %), chlorophyll and phenols in the treated plants and the net yield of fruits under soilless agriculture system were evaluated. Results revealed that biofertilizer treatments significantly decreased the abundance of insect pests infesting the green leaves of the treated plants except for A. gossypii. The highest values of N% and P% were recorded in plants treated with (VAM inoculation +Azt. spray) (1.08% and 0.3%, respectively). The highest percent of K% (5.75%) was recorded in plants treated with (Az inoculation +Azt spray). The Mix1 and Mix2 achieved the highest values of phenols contents (259.32 ppm and 259 ppm, respectively) compared to un-inoculated control (231.8 ppm), while Mix1 enhanced the chlorophyll content (59.86 ppm). The yield of fruits was also increased due to the application of biofertilizer inoculations and /or spray. Here, we provide the evidence that beneficial microbes modulate plant defenses against insect herbivores via triggering induced systemic resistance against insects by promoting the plant growth
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