Enhancing acclimatization of in vitro raised potato seedlings via biological hardening
Downloads
Published
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.3.6Keywords:
Biological hardening, anti-transpirant, bio-agents, micropropagation, tissue cultureIssue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 RESHAV NAIK, Anil Bhusan, Brajeshwar Singh, Sanjeev Kumar, Sonali Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, Nishant

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Potato is an autotetraploid tuber crop of global significance, widely propagated through tubers. However, conventional propagation methods face challenges such as low multiplication rates and disease susceptibility. Micropropagation via tissue culture enables large-scale production of disease-free plantlets, but high mortality during acclimatization remains a major limitation due to physiological and structural deficiencies. Biological hardening, involving beneficial microorganisms presents a promising strategy to enhance plantlet survival by improving rhizogenesis, nutrient availability, and stress tolerance. In this study, various biological hardening agents like Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas flourescens and Trichoderma viride with or without glycerol (0.5%), were tested to identify the optimal combination for maximizing survival rates during acclimatization. Out of all the treatment combinations application of Trichoderma viride along with glycerol (0.5%) gave highest plantlet survival (73.33%) after 3 weeks of acclimatization and all the treatments were found superior to the untreated control. Whereas, maximum increase in plant height was obtained when Bacillus subtilis + Pseudomonas flourescens (consortia) was applied with glycerol (0.5%). The results highlight the effectiveness of microbial inoculation in reducing stress, enhancing growth, and improving the establishment of tissue-cultured potato plantlets. This study underscores the potential of biological hardening as a sustainable approach for improving micropropagation efficiency and large-scale seed tuber production. Abstract
How to Cite
Downloads
1. Anith, K. N., Faseela, K. M., Archana P. A. and Prathapan K. D. 2011. Compatibility of Piriformospora indica and Trichoderma harzianum dual inoculants in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.). Symbiosis. 55(1): 11–17. 2. Bojan, C. R., Romesh, C. and Mahadevan, A. 1995. Biology and biotechnology of mycorrhiza. BIOTROP Spec. Publ. 56: 57-65. 3. El-Din, W.M.S. and Mokhtar, N.A.Y.O. 2020. Effect of irrigation scheduling and some antitranspirants on water relations and productivity of Mentha varidis L. Am.-Euras. J. Agric. Environ. Sci., 20, 367–390. 4. Estrada-Luna, A.A. and Davies Jr, F.T. 2003. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence water relations, gas exchange, abscisic acid and growth of micro propagated chile ancho pepper (Capsicum annuum) plantlets during acclimatization and post-acclimatization. J. Plant Physiol. 160(9): 1073-1083. 5. Fiorentino, N., Ventorino, V., Woo, S. L., Pepe, O., De Rosa, A., Gioia, L., Romano, I., Lombardi, N., Napolitano, M. and Colla, G. 2018. Trichoderma-based biostimulants modulate rhizosphere microbial populations and improve nitrogen uptake efficiency, yield, and nutritional quality of leafy vegetables. Front. Plant Sci. 9: 743 6. Gawad, N.M.A. 2015. Effect of some antitranspirant to reduce amount of irrigation water added to the banana cv.” Grand Nain” in sandy soil. Egypt. J. Hortic. 42(1): 69-86. 7. Gupta R. K., Verma V. S., Bhushan A. and Raina V. 2017. Biological hardening of micropropagated tomato plantlets: A case study with Piriformospora indica. Mycorrhiza Nutrient Uptake, Biocontrol Ecorestoration. pp. 301-312. 8. Hazarika B. N. 2003. Acclimatization of tissuecultured plants. Curr. Sci., 85: 1704–12. 9. Jamil, A., 2021. Antifungal and plant growth promoting activity of Trichoderma spp. against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici colonizing tomato. J. Plant Prot. Res. pp.243-253. 10. Jimtha, J. C., Smitha, P. V., Anisha, C., Deepthi, T., Meekha, G., Radhakrishnan, E. K., Gayatri, G. P. and Remakanthan. A. 2014. Isolation of endophytic bacteria from embryogenic suspension culture of banana and assessment of their plant growth promoting properties. Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Cult. 118:57–66. 11. Lincy, A. and Sasikumar, B. 2010. Enhanced adventitious shoot regeneration from aerial stem explants of ginger using TDZ and its histological studies. Turk. J. Bot. 34(1): 21-29. 12. Lugtenberg, B. and F. Kamilova. 2009. Plantgrowth- promoting rhizobacteria. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 63: 541-56. 13. Mirza, M. S., Ahmad, W., Latif, F., Haurat, J., Bally, R., Normand, P. and Mallik, KA. 2001. Isolation, partial characterization, and the effect of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) on micro-propagated sugarcane in vitro. Plant and Soil. 237: 47–54. 14. Müller T., Ruppel S., Behrendt U., Lentzsch P. and Müller M.E.H., 2018. Antagonistic Potential of Fluorescent Pseudomonads Colonizing Wheat Heads Against Mycotoxin Producing Alternaria and Fusaria. Front Microbiol. 10:9:2124. 15. Mukhongo, R. W., Kavoo-Mwangi, M.A., Robert, O. J., Were, B. A., Mwangi, E. K. and Jjefwa, J. M., 2015. Acclimatization and growth of tissue cultured banana co-inoculated with microbiological and chemical commercial products in different soils in Kenya. Acad. J. Agric. Res. 3(8): 156-168. 16. Nguyen Q.T, Xiao Y, Kozai T. 2016. Photoautotrophic micropropagation. In: Kozai T, Niu G, Takagaki M. Academic Press, Burlington, pp 271–283 17. Remans, R., Beebe, S., Blair, M., Manrique, G., Tovar, E., Rao, I., Croonenborghs, A., Torres- Gutierrez, R., El-Howeity, M., Michiels, J. and Vanderleyden, J. 2008. Physiological and genetic analysis of root responsiveness to auxinproducing plant growth-promoting bacteria in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Plant and Soil. 302(1): 149-161. 18. Saba, H., Vibhash, D., Manisha, M., Prashant K.S., Farham H. and Tauseef, A. 2012. Trichoderma—A promising plant growth stimulator and biocontrol agent. Mycosphere. 3: 524–531. 19. Shukla, N., Awasthi, R., Rawat, L. and Kumar, J. 2012. Biochemical and physiological responses of rice (Oryza sativa L.) as influenced by Trichoderma harzianum under drought stress. Plant Physiol. Biochem., 54: 78–88 20. Sparta, A. and Emilda, D. 2020. Growth Evaluation of Banana cv. Barangan as the Effect of Trichoderma sp. and Covering Types during Acclimatization Process. J. Sustain. Agric., 35(2): 268-277. 21. Tkachenko, O.V., Evseeva, N.V., Boikova, N.V., Matora, L.Y., Burygin, G.L., Lobachev, Y.V, and Shchyogolev, S.Y. 2015. Improved potato microclonal reproduction with the plant growthpromoting rhizobacteria Azospirillum. Agron. Sustain. Dev., 35:1167–1174. 22. Vinale, F., Sivasithamparam, K., Ghisalberti, E.L., Marra, R., Woo, S.L. and Lorito, M., 2008. Trichoderma–plant–pathogen interactions. Soil biol. Biochem., 40(1), pp.1-10. 23. Zhao, Q., Shen, W., Xiao, T., Xu, D. and Xu, Y., 2011, Inoculation of soil by Bacillus subtilis Y-IVI improves plant growth and colonization of the rhizosphere and interior tissues of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.). Biol. Fertil. Soils. 47(5): 507- 514.
References
Similar Articles
- T. Pradeepkumar, Minnu, A.J, Reshmika P.K., K. Veni, R.C. Varun, Deepu Mathew, Characterization and maintenance of promising gynoecious bitter gourd line through hormonal regulation and micropropagation , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 79 No. 3 (2022): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Uzma Mehraj, Sapna Panwar, Kanwar Pal Singh, Namita ., Renu Pandey, Amolkumar U. Solanke, Niharika Mallick, Development of protocol for in vitro rooting and hardening of doubled haploid line of Tagetes erecta L. derived through ovule culture , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 75 No. 04 (2018): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Bhupendra Sagore, Kanhaiya Singh, Jai Prakash, Vartika Srivastava, Vignesh M, Brijesh Kumar Yadav, Elucidating the effect of plant bioregulators on embryo maturation for shortening the breeding cycle in papaya , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 80 No. 03 (2023): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Usha, T. Janakiram, K.V. Prasad, Surender Kumar, Effect of abscisic acid on anthocyanin production in callus culture of Petunia hybrida cv. Bravo Blue , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 71 No. 4 (2014): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Kaluram, C. Vasugi , Pious Thomas, M. R. Dinesh, P. Nandeesha , A comparative evaluation of micro-propagated and seed derived plants of intergeneric papaya hybrids , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 79 No. 4 (2022): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- D. Kalaivanan, G. Selvakumar, S. Shankara Hebbar, Effects of varying N, P and K concentrations on growth, biomass, yield and nutritional quality of zucchini squash grown under open and polyhouse soilless culture , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 77 No. 03 (2020): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Z. Razali, Y.K. Yip, H. Nair, A.N. Boyce, S. Chandran, Effects of sugars and amino-oxyacetic acid on the longevity of pollinated Dendrobium Pompadour flowers , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 67 No. 02 (2010): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Harpreet Kaur, Shammi Kapoor, Shivani Sharma, Correlating lignocellulose converting enzymes, substrate utilization and biological efficiency of Pleurotus eryngii strains grown on different agricultural residues , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 76 No. 02 (2019): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- S.K. Bairwa, M.K. Tripathi, S.S. Kushwah, B.S. Baghel, S. Tiwari, Somatic embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration from embryogenic suspension culture in muskmelon , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 69 No. 03 (2012): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- M.S. Aneesa Rani, S. Chandrasekaran, M. Vijayakumar, In-vitro production of secondary metabolites in Gymnema sylvestre , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 67 No. 01 (2010): Indian Journal of Horticulture
<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.