Ecology

Bacteria

Biology

Phosphorus

Biochemistry

Rhizosphere

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria

Phosphate

Soil water

Genetics

Crop

Biofertilizer

Organic chemistry

Fertilizer

Rhizobacteria

Trichoderma

Phosphorite

Agronomy

Horticulture

Beneficial organism

Chemistry

Soil microbiology

Microorganism

Nutrient

Scientific Reports

Acidic soils rapidly retain applied phosphorus fertilizers and consequently present low availability of this nutrient to plants. The use of phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms to help plant phosphorus (P) absorption is a promising sustainable strategy for managing P deficiencies in agricultural soils. Trichoderma strains have been one of the most studied filamentous fungi for improving the production and development of several crop species mainly due to their capability for symbiotic associations and their ability to control soil-borne plant diseases. Thus, this work sought to bioprospect Trichoderma strains from the Amazon rainforest capable of solubilizing/mineralizing soil phosphate and promoting soybean growth. Soybean plants inoculated with selected Trichoderma strains were cultivated in soil under greenhouse conditions and under a gradient of rock phosphate and triple superphosphate. As a result, 19.5% of the isolated Trichoderma strains were able to solubilize phosphate. In addition, those strains produced different organic acids during the solubilization process. Trichoderma spp. strains showed positive responses in the promotion of soybean growth—from 2.1% to 41.1%—as well as in the efficiency of P uptake-up to 141%. These results reveal the potential of Trichoderma spp. from the Amazon biome as promising biofertilizer agents.

Phosphorus-solubilizing Trichoderma spp. from Amazon soils improve soybean plant growth