EFFECTS OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGAL BIO-PRIMING ON GERMINATION PERFORMANCE OF SHALLOT SEEDS UNDER DROUGHT AND SALINITY STRESS

Abstract

This study examined how fungal bio-priming with Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae affected shallot (Allium cepa L. var. aggregatum) seed germination under drought and salinity stress. This experiment used a factorial experiment with three bio-priming treatments (control, B. bassiana, and M. anisopliae) and three stress conditions (non-stress, 100 mM NaCl, and drought stress with polyethylene glycol at −0.5 MPa). The results showed that bio-priming and stress conditions together influenced all germination parameters. B. bassiana improved germination speed, uniformity, and synchrony under non-stress conditions. Under drought stress, however, hydro-priming (control) achieved the fastest germination timing, while B. bassiana still improved germination uniformity relative to the control. M. anisopliae showed numerically higher germination speed and velocity under salinity stress, although these differences were not statistically significant among treatments, and this treatment also exhibited greater (though non-significant) variability in germination timing. Drought and salinity both increased germination variability and uncertainty, but fungal bio-priming reduced these effects depending on the stress type. Fungal bio-priming affected not only germination capacity but also the timing and predictability of germination. These findings support using fungal bio-priming to improve shallot seed germination under drought and salinity stress.

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