Rhizospheric fungal diversity in the medicinal plants of Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Abstract

Rhizospheric fungi play pivotal roles for both soil and plant health. These fungi improving the growth of the plants and enhance the production of secondary metabolites. In the rhizosphere of medicinal plants, a very complex and diverse microbial community is present, including fungi, that significantly influences plant health and secondary metabolite production. Rhizospheric fungi are attracting researchers towards medicinal plants uses due to the presence of bioactive compounds, which consist of alkaloids, peptides, steroids, phenols, quinones, flavonoids, terpenoids, etc. The present study has been undertaken to isolate and identify the soil fungi associated with the rhizosphere of some medicinal plants, viz., Ocimum sanctum, Asparagus officinalis, Cymbopogon citratus, and Mentha arvensis of the Rewa district of MP, India. Total eight fungal species were isolated from the rhizosphere of selected medicinal plants. The highest number of fungal colonies was found in the rhizosphere of Cymbopogon citratus. Maximum fungal diversity was in the rhizosphere of Ocimum sanctum, with six species while minimum was in Asparagus officinalis with three species. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium sp. were more frequent, which were associated with all these plants except Cymbopogon citratus. These findings suggested that medicinal plants are associated with different rhizosphere fungi, which are helpful for developing sustainable agriculture practices.