Influence of Symbiotic Interaction between Fungus, Virus, and Tomato Plant in Combating Drought Stress

The influence of the three-way interaction between the fungus, virus, and tomato in combating drought stress was evaluated in this study. The plants in this greenhouse experiment were grown under conditions of 400 mu mol.m sigma u -2 greater than or equal to s super( -1) plus or minus 150 mu mol.m sigma u -2 greater than or equal to s super( -1) photon flux density, 45% to 50% relative humidity, and 30 degrees Celsius plus or minus 2 degrees Celsius. Tomato seeds were germinated and inoculated with the combination of the fungus and virus at the seedling stage. The plants were allowed to grow for two weeks and randomly selected individuals were utilized. The treatments included non-symbiotic, virus-free, and symbiotic plants. The samples of each treatment were utilized at the end of each stage in determining photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, photosynthetic pigments, water potential, and soluble sugar content. Plant growth, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, photosynthetic rate, stomata conductance, water potential, and soluble sugar content were similarly affected by the various treatments. However, carotenoids were significantly higher at pre-anthesis in the symbiotic plants in comparison to other treatments.