Research Article · FIAR-2026-0301
Isolation, Identification and Plant Growth-Promoting Potential of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Solanum melongena L. under Abiotic Stress
¹Department of Botany, Buddha P.G. College, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh 274403, India
²Department of Botany, Swami Devanand P.G. College, Math Lar, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh 274502, India
Corresponding author: ramesh85au@gmail.com
Ramesh Chandra Vishwakarma ORCID: 0009-0004-6808-5757
Abstract
Endophytic fungi can improve plant nutrition and help crops tolerate environmental stress. This study isolated culturable endophytic fungi from healthy roots, stems and leaves of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) and evaluated their plant growth-promoting potential under salinity and polyethylene glycol-induced drought stress. Surface-sterilized tissue segments yielded six fungal isolates, designated EF-1 to EF-6. Morphological and microscopic examination provisionally assigned the isolates to Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Phomopsis, Penicillium and Alternaria. The isolates were screened for indole-3-acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization and siderophore production. EF-3 (Trichoderma sp.) and EF-5 (Penicillium sp.) showed the strongest combined plant growth-promoting traits. Relative to the stressed uninoculated control, EF-3 treatment increased germination by 26%, root length by 32%, shoot length by 28% and biomass by 30%; EF-5 produced corresponding increases of 22%, 28%, 24% and 27%. Treated seedlings also showed higher chlorophyll status, lower apparent oxidative stress and greater antioxidant activity. These findings identify EF-3 and EF-5 as promising candidates for further molecular identification, dose optimization and field validation before use as brinjal bioinoculants.
Keywords
abiotic stress; bioinoculant; brinjal; endophytic fungi; plant growth promotion; Solanum melongena
How to cite this article
Vishwakarma, R. C., & Singh, P. K. (2026). Isolation, Identification and Plant Growth-Promoting Potential of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Solanum melongena L. under Abiotic Stress. Frontiers of Integrated Academic Research, 1(3), 1–6. https://fiarjournal.in/article/fiar-2026-0301