Effect of Soil-Isolated Cyanobacteria as a Growth-promoting on the Growth and Quality of Potato Mini-Tubers (Solanum tuberosum L.) under Greenhouse Cultivation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Soil Science and engineering Department, Faculty of Agricultural, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran

2 Department of Horticulturer Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Shahrekord, Charmahal-va-Bakhtiari, Iran.

3 Department of Horticulturer Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Shahrekord, Charmahal-va-Bakhtiari

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of cyanobacteria-based growth stimulants isolated from soil on the growth and quality of potato minitubers (Solanum tuberosum L.) grown in greenhouse soil culture. Cyanobacterial strains were cultivated and isolated from soil, their physiological characteristics and biomass production were determined, and their extracts were prepared. An experiment was conducted in a randomized complete-block design with four treatments and three replicates in 2025. Growth characteristics and plant nutrient concentrations were assessed. Morphological and filamentous-cell analyses indicated that the isolates correspond to two cyanobacterial strains in the genera Anabaena and Nostoc. Both strains exhibited significant capacities for atmospheric nitrogen fixation, tricalcium phosphate solubilization, and production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). All treatments enhanced growth traits of potato plants relative to the untreated control. Stem length and diameter, leaf number, total tuber number, and leaf concentrations of phosphorus, iron, and zinc were higher in the cyanobacterial extract foliar-spray treatment than in the control. Total tuber weight increased by 24.46% under root inoculation with cyanobacteria compared with the control. Total tuber number, along with the counts of medium and small tubers, showed positive and significant correlations at p≤0.01, while the number of large tubers and the weight of medium tubers correlated positively at p≤0.05. Leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) correlated positively and significantly with leaf nitrogen concentration (r= 0.72, p≤0.01), and leaf nitrogen concentration correlated positively with leaf potassium concentration (r=0.66, p≤0.05). These findings underscore the growth-promoting activity of soil-isolated cyanobacteria as a plant-growth-enhancing treatment and support the use of cyanobacterial bio-extracts as sustainable tools to improve the growth and quality of potato tubers.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Introduction

Cyanobacteria-based bioinoculants offer a sustainable strategy to enhance soil fertility and crop yield. The adoption of green-technology practices that employ cyanobacteria in agriculture can mitigate the reliance on chemical fertilizers. Experimental investigations into the interactions between cyanobacteria and key crops have yielded promising findings. Therefore, the present study aimed to (i) assess the effects of cyanobacterial extracts and biofertilizer inoculation with native soil cyanobacteria (Nostoc sp. and Anabaena sp.) on growth and yield, (ii) evaluate a suite of physiological, biochemical, and nutritional traits, and (iii) determine the quality parameters of potato minitubers grown under greenhouse conditions.

Method

The cultivation and isolation of cyanobacterial strains from soil, determination of their physiological characteristics and biomass production, and preparation of their extracts were conducted. Greenhouse soil was sampled, and comprehensive physical and chemical analyses were performed. The study was organized as a randomized complete block design with four treatments (1) control (no inoculation), (2) root inoculation with cyanobacteria, (3) foliar application of cyanobacterial extract, and (4) root inoculation with Pseudomonas putida), with three replicates under greenhouse conditions in Najafabad, Isfahan (approximately 51°23ʹ9.28ʺ E, 32°34ʹ34.17ʺ N). Potato seedlings of the Santé cultivar were prepared and subjected to a 20-minute pre-treatment in a suspension containing a mixture of two cyanobacteria and Pseudomonas; these were then planted in the designated treatment plots row-wise. Cyanobacterial extract, at a concentration of 5%, was applied as a spray in two applications at 15 and 30 day intervals after planting. Thirteen weeks after planting, growth parameters including plant height, number of leaves, leaf area index, and fresh and dry shoot weights were measured, followed by topping (complete removal of the shoots) in all treatments. One week after topping, the total minituber number and minituber weight per treatment were recorded. To assess the impact of treatments on nutrient uptake, leaf tissue analyses were performed.

Results

The results of the morphological and filamentous-cell characteristics of these two cyanobacteria showed that they were related to two strains of Anabaena and Nostoc. Both strains showed significant abilities in atmospheric nitrogen fixation, tricalcium phosphate solubilization and production of the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The results showed that all treatments increased the growth characteristics of potato plants compared to untreated plants. In the foliar cyanobacterial extract treatment, the shoot length and stem diameter, leaf number, total minituber number, and leaf concentration of phosphorus, iron and zinc were higher than in the control. The root inoculation with cyanobacteria increased total minituber mass by 24.46% compared with the control. Total minitubers number showed a positive and significant correlation with the numbers of medium minitubers and small minitubers at the 1% significance level (p ≤ 0.01), and with the number of large minitubers and the weight of medium minitubers at the 5% significance level (p ≤ 0.05). SPAD-derived chlorophyll content (SPAD) correlated positively and strongly with leaf nitrogen concentration (r = 0.72, p ≤ 0.01). Leaf nitrogen concentration showed a positive and significant correlation with leaf potassium concentration (r = 0.66, p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusions

These findings underscore the growth-promoting activity of soil-isolated cyanobacteria as plant growth–enhancing treatments and support the use of cyanobacterial bio-extracts as sustainable tools to improve the growth and quality of potato tubers. Evaluation of physiological traits indicated that the two heterocystous filamentous cyanobacteria possess substantial potential to enhance soil fertility and promote plant growth. The study demonstrates that the application of cyanobacteria and their bio-extracts as plant growth promoters was more effective than both Pseudomonas sp. inoculation and the untreated control in improving the growth and yield of potato tubers. Cyanobacteria and their extracts are frequently used as bio-stimulants and can mitigate abiotic stresses while promoting growth across a range of agricultural crops. Collectively, these findings suggest that such formulations offer a cost-effective strategy for greenhouse-oriented potato cultivation and constitute a sustainable alternative within integrated and optimized fertilizer management.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Authorship contribution

Azam Kheirollahi Najafabadi: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing - Original Draft and Editing. Saheb Soodaee Mashaee: Conceptualization, Validation, Resources, Supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, Writing - Review and Editing. Rahim Barzegar: Supervision, Validation, project administration, Writing - Review and Editing. Sadeg Mousavi-Fard: Supervision, Validation, Review and Editing. All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Acknowledgements

This paper is published as part of a master's thesis supported by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology, Shahrekord University, Iran. In addition, this research was conducted in Mr. Noormohammadi's personal greenhouse located in Najafabad, Isfahan. The authors would like to thank all participants of the present study. The authors would like to thank anonymous referees for their constructive comments.

Ethical considerations

The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest. 

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Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 57, Issue 2
May 2026
Pages 375-391

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