Growth responses of Lactuca sativa seedlings upon biofertilization with the algae Macrocyatis pyrifera and the PGPR azospirillum brasilense, individually or in combination

IPARRAGUIRRE, JULIA; NIETO, AGUSTÍN; LLANES, ANALÍA; MASCIARELLI OSCAR; LUNA, MARÍA VIRGINIA; CORTES, JULIETA

Mendoza

Congreso; XXXIV Reunón Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo. Mendoza- Argentina; 2016

Sociedas Argentina de biología

Horticultural production in Rio Cuarto, Córdoba, occupies approximately 700ha being leafy vegetables such as lettuce the main crops in this area. Due to high demand as food complement for being an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber, lettuce production needs to be increased. Cultivation is carried on mainly under field conditions, or in greenhouse with hydroponic systems. Increased production of leaf biomass could be achieved by the use of environmentally sustainable alternatives such as biofertilizers. The objective of this work was to analyze the physiological responses of lettuce to the application of extracts of the alga Macrocystis pyrifera individually or in mixed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense, and to assess whether both types of promoters exert a synergistic action on root growth and crop establishment. The parameters analyzed were root length, dry root biomass and area and aboveground fresh weight and dry biomass, total chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance in response to the different treatments. The results showed a statistically significant increase in all these physiological parameters in seedlings inoculated with the algal extract individually, and in combination with PGPR bacteria with no differences between these two treatments. Chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance control were also favored by biofertilization, suggesting that its implementation could allow optimization of lettuce production by using a natural alternative