Effectiveness of the Complex Microbial Formulation for Disease Protection and Productivity Enhancement of Plants

Abstract Usage of the potential of beneficial soil microorganisms is one of the most promising areas for crop production enhancement. Of special interest are innovative multifunctional complex bioformulations based on associations of bacteria with phytoprotective and growth-stimulating properties. The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the new complex microbial preparation Ecophosphoryn. It was created based on associative growth-stimulating phosphate-mobilizing and nitrogen-fixing bacteria Bacillus , Azotobacter and Agrobacterium genera. Ecophosphoryn was used to treat the seeds of corn ( Zea mays L.), white-headed cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.), spray tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) and cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) during the growing season in laboratory, vegetation and field research. The protective effect of Ecophosphoryn against аlternaria of tomatoes averaged 76%. Against fusarium wilt of white cabbage on an artificial infectious background, the effectiveness of Ecophosphoryn was at the level of 78 ‒ 83%, and against alternaria head blight in the field on a natural infectious background – at the level of 45 ‒ 53%. The damage of corn by powdery mildew during the growing season decreased by 33%. The obtained results proved that various methods of using bioformulation contributed to increasing the resistance of plants against phytopathogenic micromycetes. The yield of white cabbage grew by 12%, tomatoes – by 14.9%, and corn ‒ by 26.6%. In most cases, the protective effect of the biological preparation and crop yields were not less effective than those of chemicals. In all field experiments, the use of Ecophosphoryn resulted in an increase in healthy fruit harvest compared to the control. The obtained data expand knowledge about the capabilities of biological formulations for ecologically oriented phytosanitary optimization of agrocenoses.