Trichoderma harzianum improves the performance of stress-tolerant rice varieties in rainfed ecologies of Bihar, India

An aggravation in prevalence, magnitude and duration of environmental stresses has posed a serious threat to global food security. Exploitation of microbial organisms has been hypothesized to play an important role in mitigating stresses and enhancing the yields of stress tolerant varieties in major field crops including rice. In this study, preliminary on-station experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential of various microbial formulations for enhancing the performance of stress tolerant rice varieties under rainfed ecologies of Bihar, India. The best performing formulation (Trichoderma harzianum strain S2) was selected for on-farm evaluation over years and locations. The studies conducted through on-farm trials and village level demonstrations indicated that the application of Trichoderma harzianum strain S2 along with IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) improved BMP (best management practices) was most effective for enhancing the yield and yield attributes of stress tolerant rice varieties. This treatment revealed the highest grain yields of 4.91 t ha−1 for Sahbhagi Dhan during 2013 and 4.81 t ha−1 for Swarna-Sub1 during 2014. Although, the application of Trichoderma strain S2 along with farmer's practice had positive impact on yield parameters over the sole use farmer's practice, the advantage obtained was relatively low. This treatment showed the maximum grain yields of 4.53 t ha−1 for Sahbhagi Dhan and 4.08 t ha−1 for Swarna-Sub1 during the wet season of 2013. Thus, the present work advocates for an effective use of microbes along with inherent abiotic stress tolerance of the crop and best management practices, to alleviate stresses under field conditions.