BIODIVERSITY OF PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING FUNGIISOLATED FROM AGRICULTURAL FIELDS OF MARATHWADA REGION

Fungi are the core components of soil microorganisms, accounting for more of the soil biomass than bacteria, depending on soil depth and nutritional requirements. In the current study, phosphate solubilizing fungi were isolated from the soil of Maharashtras Marathwada area, and all fungal isolates were examined for their ability to solubilize phosphate.Only 11 fungal isolates out of a total of 40 were found to have P-solubilizing activity. After 48 hours of incubation, the fungal isolates Aspergillus niger (PQ9), Trichoderma spp (PQ36), and Penicillium spp (PQ19) demonstrated a considerable zone of solubilization with 34, 31 to 30 mm on selective agar medium. The potent phosphate solubilizing fungi were identified in 18SrRNA analysis.The study, therefore, proposed that these fungal species have strong phosphate solubilizing properties and can be used for excellent crop productivity as a biofertilizer.