Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inducing Tomato Plant Resistance and Its Role in Control of Bemisia tabaci Under Greenhouse Conditions

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are one of the environment-friendly organisms that enhance plant performance. AMF affect the herbivorous insect community by indirectly modifying host plant nutrient uptake, growth, and defense, also known as priming. In the current study, under greenhouse conditions, the effects of inoculating tomato seedlings with four species of AMF,
i.e., Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices, Rhizophagus irregularis, and Glomus iranicus, were studied in relation to tomato plant growth parameters, plant defense enzymes, and total phenol content, and additionally, the life table of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) feeding on these plants was determined. The results demonstrated that the growth parameters of tomato plants, including plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, root volume, leaf surface area, weight of the root, and aerial organs (containing the leaves and stem), were greater and larger in the AMF-inoculated plants compared to the noninoculated plants. Furthermore, there were higher defense enzyme activities, including peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase and polyphenol oxidase, and also higher total phenol contents in the AMF-inoculated plants. The whitefly life table characteristics were decreased in the group feeding on the AMF-inoculated plants. All together, the AMF colonization made the tomato plants more resistant against B. tabaci by improving plant growth and increasing defense enzymes. The degree of priming observed here suggests the potential of AMF to have expansive applications, including their implementation in sustainable agriculture.