Secondary metabolites play a crucial role in promoting plant growth and priming plants for defense against diseases. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the seed- priming effect of microbial secondary metabolites in promoting plant growth and protecting okra against Verticillium wilt disease. The pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates were identified as Verticillium dahliae and Trichoderma harzianum, respectively, through the use of molecular markers. Further, the virulence of V. dahliae was confirmed by the pathogenicity test on the host. Based on FTIR and GC-MS analyses, the functional groups and the detection of Trichoderma secondary metabolites (TSMs) namely, phenol 2, 4-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl)-, 1-nonadecene, and n-hexadecanoic acid, were characterized. On PDA plates, a significant inhibitory action on V. dahliae mycelial growth and spore germination was evident from TSMs extracts. Under in vitro conditions, TSMs-primed okra seeds (250 and 500 mg/mL) resulted in earlier emergence, higher germination, and greater seedling vigour compared to non-primed seeds or SDW-controls. Under greenhouse conditions, okra plants pretreated with TSMs showed a marked improvement in plant growth parameters. Furthermore, okra plants pretreated with TSMs (250 mg/mL) and inoculated with V. dahliae, recorded the maximum disease protection of 79%. While the lowest protection of 34% was observed in TSM-primed okra plants (100 mg/mL), which remained significant compared with pathogen- inoculated or SDW-control plants. Together, these results demonstrate how TSMs protect okra plants by preventing V. dahlia growth. To achieve sustainable plant production targets, more research is required to develop TSMs as biostimulant and or biofertilizer products.
Komaranahalli et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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