<i>Azospirillum brasilense</i> and <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> as Alternative for Decrease the Effect of Salinity Stress in Tomato (<i>Lycopersicon esculentum</i>) Growth

The salinity stress is one of the most relevant abiotic stresses that affects the agricultural production. The present study was performed to study the improvement of the salt tolerance of tomato plants which is known for their susceptibility to salt stress. The present study aimed to assess to what extent strain Azospirillum brasilense (N040) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae improve the salt tolerance to tomato plants treated with different salt concentration. The inoculant strain A. brasilense (N040) was previously adapted to survive up to 7% NaCl in the basal media. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of this inoculation on growth parameter such as: plant height, root length, fresh and dry weight, fruits fresh weight, chlorophyll content, proline and total soluble sugar in tomato plants under salt stress condition. The results revealed that co-inoculation of Azospirillum brasilense (N040) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae significantly increased the level of proline (8.63?mg/g FW) and total soluble sugar (120?mg/g FW) of leaves under salinity condition comparing to non-inoculated plants (2.3?mg/g FW and 70?mg/g FW, respectively). Plants co-inoculated with adapted strain of A. brasilense and S. cerevisiae showed the highest significant (p < 0.01) increase in fruit yield (1166.6?g/plant), plant high (115?cm) and roots length (52.6) compared whit un-inoculated control plants (42?g/pant, 43.3?cm and 29.6?cm, respectively). In contrast, Na⁺ ion content was significantly decreased in the leaves of salt stressed plants treated with the A. brasilense (N040) and S. cerevisiae. Finally, the results showed that dual benefits provided by both A. brasilense (N040) and S. cerevisiae can provide a major way to improve tomato yields in saline soils.