Leo Sabatino, Beppe Benedetto Consentino, Georgia Ntatsi, Salvatore La Bella, Sara Baldassano, Youssef Rouphael
The current research investigated the effects of endophytic fungi such as (Ta) or seaweed extract (An) and their combination on growth, yield, nutritive and functional features, and mineral profile of 'Birgah' F eggplant either ungrafted, self-grafted or grafted onto the rootstock. Eggplant exposed to An or An+Ta had a significant increase in root collar diameter 50 days after transplanting (RCD), total yield (TY), marketable yield (MY), ascorbic acid (AA) content, Mg, Cu, and Zn concentration, and a reduction in glycoalkaloids (GLY) compared with the control. Furthermore, grafted plants had a higher TY, MY, number of marketable fruits (NMF), RCD, AA, Cu, and Zn and a lower SSC, GLY, and Mg than the ungrafted plants. The combination of grafting and An+Ta significantly improved mean weight of marketable fruits (MF), plant height 50 days after transplanting (PH), number of leaves 50 days after transplanting (NL), fruit dry matter (FDM), chlorogenic acid (ClA), proteins, and K and Fe concentration. This combination also produced fruits of high premium quality as evidenced by the higher AA and ClA concentration, the lower GLY concentration, and an overall improved mineral profile.
