Beneficial Effects of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria,Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Compost on Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Growth Under Field Conditions

Two independent field experiments (2017 and 2019) were conducted to evaluate the effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; AMF1: Rhizophagus irregularis strain and AMF2: AMF consortium) and compost (Comp) in comparison to chemical NPK fertilizers on growth and yield of lettuce plants and soil properties. The biofertilizers-biostimulants were applied alone or in combinations and increased significantly the lettuce dry weight (DW), number of leaves, and yield compared to the control. In the first experiment, the highest plant DW was obtained by NPK, PGPR?+?AMF2?+?Comp and PGPR treatments recording an increase of 109, 109, and 95%, respectively, compared to the control plants. In the second experiment the highest plant DW was obtained by the NPK (77%), followed by Comp and PGPR?+?AMF1?+?Comp treatments increasing the plant DW by 52 and 51%, respectively, compared to the control. Concerning to lettuce yield, in the first experiment, the highest yields were obtained by NPK, PGPR?+?AMF2, PGPR?+?AMF1?+?Comp, PGPR, AMF2?+?Comp, AMF1?+?Comp and AMF2 treatments recording an enhancement of 68, 64, 63, 58, 57, 57, and 55%, respectively. In the second experiment, the application of NPK based fertilizers resulted in the highest yield (77%), followed by PGPR?+?AMF1?+?Comp, PGPR?+?AMF2?+?Comp, AMF1?+?Comp, and AMF2?+?Comp treatments, increasing the yield by 61, 61, 54, and 55%, respectively, compared to the control. Concerning the soil organic matter (OM), the applied treatments had significantly increased the amount of the OM compared to the control. The highest amounts of OM were obtained by the PGPR?+?AMF2?+?Comp treatment in the first experiment and the PGPR?+?AMF1?+?Comp treatment in the second experiment. The available phosphorus (P) was significantly increased by the application of all treatments. The highest records were obtained by the application of Comp, PGPR?+?AMF1 and PGPR?+?AMF1?+?Comp treatment after the first experiment. In the second experiment, the highest amount of P was obtained by PGPR?+?AMF2?+?Comp treatment. Application of biofertilizers-biostimulants in combination proved to be beneficial for the improvement of the tested culture yield.