Identification and characterization of high salinity tolerant Trichoderma harzianum strain, IIPRTh-3 for mitigating salt stress, wilt incidence and promoting plant growth in pigeonpea

Salt stress is one of the most divesting abiotic stresses for pulse crops. Identification of salt tolerant indigenous microorganisms from pulses rhizosphere is an effective and important approach to mitigate the soil salinity. In the present investigation, effect of IIPRTh-3 (Trichoderma harzianum) on reduction of wilt disease under salinity stress and defense enzyme induction on pigeonpea plants. Out of 56 studied Trichoderma isolates, only nine isolates viz. IIPRTh-3, IIPRTlg-2, IIPRTh-10, IIPRTh-22, IIPRTh-15, IIPRTas-12, IIPRTh-39, IIPRTas-15, and IIPRTh-38 were able to grow and sporulate in a growth medium containing up to 10% NaCl. IIPRTh-3 was able to grow at 11% of salt concentration and showed maximum inhibition of Fusarium udum mycelium. This isolate also reduces the incidence of wilt in treated plants. Our ongoing research is directed towards developing fungal bioformulation to assay multiple stress tolerances in agriculture for agro-economically important pulses such as pigeonpea.