First, the efficient biostimulant concentration was determined on wheat seedlings. Subsequently, screening of biostimulating activities of the feather protein hydrolyzate on young plants was carried out in a greenhouse pot experiment. A field trial was set up to verify the effects of the new biostimulant in agricultural practice. The effects of biostimulant treatments on the interaction of the wheat plants with either artificially inoculated mycorrhizal fungi or with native root-inhabiting fungi were determined.
In the pot experiment, there were the trends in the increase of wheat growth parameters by feather protein hydrolyzate, and a significant increase of dry weight of shoot biomass under standard phosphorus supply. In the field experiment, two weeks after biostimulant treatment, feather protein hydrolyzate applied to plants increased the leaf chlorophyll content and plant height. This resulted in the significant increase of grain yield of 4.9% by feather protein hydrolyzate in comparison with the control plants.
In the pot experiment, the trend in the increase of the root mycorrhizal colonization and the abundance of fungal structures such as vesicles or spores by feather protein hydrolyzate was observed, especially under low phosphorus supply. These results together with stimulation of wheat growth parameters may indicate a synergistic effect of artificial inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and biostimulant treatment in plant growth promotion. A similar synergistic effect was observed for the native mycorrhizal fungi under field conditions. In the plants treated with the feather protein hydrolyzate, the crop growth parameters and yield were increased simultaneously with a slight increase of mycorrhizal colonization and a significant increase in abundance of vesicles or spores in the roots.
The molecular analyses of fungal population diversity revealed that the fungal community composition significantly changes over the crop growth cycle, but it is only slightly affected by the biostimulant treatments. The differences in the fungal population diversity among the treatments were more pronounced 14 days after the biostimulant application in comparison with the later growth stage. In addition, the trends in a higher abundance of Glomerales, an order of symbiotic fungi, in the plants treated with protein hydrolyzates were recorded. Based on the results, the possible influence of native root-associated fungal communities by the biostimulants, together with the promotion of crop growth parameters at a specific developmental stage, may contribute to the increase of crop yield.
The project results might be exploited by the poultry producers, that need to dispose of large quantities of feathers, and the fertilizer producers that may exploit the novel biostimulant with proven no harmful effects on symbiotic microorganisms, after appropriate product standardization, either alone or as an additive to the fertilizers.
During the MSCA fellowship, the researcher participated in the scientific training activities, transfer of knowledge in the biostimulant development from the industry, and in the activities of project management and administration. The BIOSTISYM project aimed to increase public awareness on sustainable agriculture and the influence of plant interactions with beneficial microorganisms by agro-technical interventions. Therefore, lectures and stages for high school students were organized, as well as the contributions to the popularizing events of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The results of the project were presented at three international conferences and two scientific papers will be published in peer-reviewed journals. The project was also presented in the exhibition premises of the Průhonice Castle, UNESCO heritage site.
