The beneficial root endophyte Piriformospora indica reduces of the soybean cyst nematode

The soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines) is a plant parasitic nematode that is a major plant pest worldwide and causes severe economic and yield losses. Pinformospora indica, a plant growth promoting fungus isolated from the Thar Deserts of western India, has been shown to protect a wide range of plants from various biotic and abiotic stresses. To evaluate the potential of P. indica to protect soybean (Glycine max) seedlings from damage by the soybean cyst nematode (SCN), we amended soil with two different concentrations of P. indica (2.5% and 5% w/w) and inoculated with second-stage juveniles (J2s) of SCN in each treatment. After 60 days, abundance of nematode eggs was measured by calculating SCN egg population densities. We found that egg density/100 cc soil was significantly decreased by 29.7% and 36.7% respectively in the soil amended with 2.5% and 5% P. indica compared to a control. Amendment with P. indica also had a strong growth and yield promoting effect in Soybean. Although root biomass was significantly decreased by 27.9% and 33.5% in the two treatments compared to the control, shoot biomass (dry weight) increased by 30.8% and 8.2% in the 2.5% and 5% P. indica treatments compared to the control. Additionally, plant development was accelerated and a 75% increase in flowering was observed between the 2.5% P. indica treatment and the control. We conclude that P. indica used as a soil amendment decreases abundance of the SCN in soil and has plant-growth promoting properties that may help offset yield losses due to plant parasitic nematodes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.