SENAD MURTIC1; RODOLJUB OLJACA2; MIRELA SMAJIC MURTIC3; IVANA KOLESKA2; LUTVIJA KARIC4; JASNA AVDIC5
1 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Plant Physiology, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2 University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science, Physiology and Plant Nutrition, 78 000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
3 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Food Technology, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
4 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Vegetable Crops, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
5 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Horticulture, 71 000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Murtic, S., R. Oljaca; M. S. Murtic; I. Koleska; L. Karic and J. Avdic, 2018. Effect of microbiological fertilizer for mitigating water stress in cherry tomato. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 24 (1): 106–111
This study was carried out to examine the effect of microbiological fertilizer ‘Slavol’ (MB) on selected physiological parameters for evaluating drought tolerance of seedlings (content of proline, leaf water potential, leaf area, content of photosynthetic pigments, total phenolic and fl avonoids) and subsequently on the yield and fruit quality of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. cerasiforme). Cherry tomato seedlings treated by MB had a lower content of proline and higher leaf water potential compared to non-treated seedlings under water stress, which indicates that microorganisms present in fertilizers contributes to better adaptation of cherry tomato seedlings to stress. The research results also showed that application of MB contribute to increasing of phenolic compounds and consequently strengthening of cherry tomato antioxidant defense system. Fruit quality parameters (TSS, TA, TPC, TFC, FRAP, content of ascorbic acid and lycopene) were signifi cantly higher in fruits of cherry tomato subjected to drought, regardless of MB treatment, suggesting that exposure of plant to controlled water stress conditions may represent a very promising approach to enhance the nutritional quality of cherry tomato.