Novel Effects of Leonardite-Based Applications on Sugar Beet

• Published in: Frontiers in plant science Vol. 12; p. 646025
• Main Authors: Della Lucia, Maria C, Bertoldo, Giovanni, Broccanello, Chiara, Maretto, Laura, Ravi, Samathmika, Marinello, Francesco, Sartori, Luigi, Marsilio, Giovanni, Baglieri, Andrea, Romano, Alessandro, Colombo, Mauro, Magro, Francesco, Campagna, Giovanni, Concheri, Giuseppe, Squartini, Andrea, Stevanato, Piergiorgio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 18-03-2021
• Subjects: 16S rRNA metabarcoding; gene expression; leonardite; Plant Science; sugar beet; sugar yield; sugar yield; leonardite; 16S rRNA metabarcoding; gene expression; sugar beet
• ISSN: 1664-462X; 1664-462X
• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.646025

The present study aimed to explore the effects of foliar application of a leonardite-based product on sugar beet (
L.) plants grown in the field. The approach concerned the evaluation of the community compositional structure of plant endophytic bacteria through a metabarcoding approach, the expression level of a gene panel related to hormonal metabolism and signaling, and the main sugar beet productivity traits. Results indicated that plants treated with leonardite (dosage of 2,000 ml ha
, dilution 1:125, 4 mg C l
) compared with untreated ones had a significant increase (
< 0.05) in (i) the abundance of
spp., recognized to be an endophyte bacterial genus with plant growth-promoting activity; (ii) the expression level of
gene, coding for auxin transport proteins; and (iii) sugar yield. This study represents a step forward to advance our understanding of the changes induced by leonardite-based biostimulant in sugar beet.