ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Crop Biology and Sustainability
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1619801
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Soil and Crop Resilience: Strategies Against Climate-Driven Salinization and DegradationView all 8 articles
Investigating the potential role of Beneficial Rhizobacteria for protecting grapevine health and promoting growth
Provisionally accepted
Lobna Hajji Hedfi1*
Takwa Wannasi1Laith Khalil Tawfik Al-Ani2Bassem Ayman Balbool Balbool3,4Salma Tissaoui3Amira Mougou-Hamdane3Wissem Hamdi5,6
Ahmed M. Abdel-Azeem6Nazih Y. Rebouh7*- 1Regional Centre of Agricultural Research of Sidi Bouzid, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia
- 2University of Baghadad, Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq
- 3University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia
- 46 otcober University, 6th October, Egypt
- 5University of Gabes, Gabes, Tunisia
- 6Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Tunisia
- 7RUDN University, Moscow, Tunisia
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Beneficial rhizobacteria play a crucial role in promoting plant growth and enhancing soil health by producing key enzymes, facilitating nutrient cycling, and suppressing phytopathogens. This study investigated the physicochemical properties of soil from 32 grapevine sites in the Sidi Bouzid region of Tunisia and evaluated the plant growth-promoting and biocontrol potential of bacterial isolates against Botrytis cinerea, the causative agent of gray mold. Soil analysis revealed significant variation in pH (6.78 to 8.07), organic matter (0.44-1.59%), and nutrient content, while electrical conductivity remained stable. A total of 107 bacterial isolates were isolated from soil samples and recovered, of which 97 were non-pathogenic and tested for multiple plant growth-promoting traits. Enzymatic screening revealed production of catalase, pectinase, cellulase, and chitinase among others. In vitro assays identified four isolates (H3Rh1, ZRh5, GRh5, SRh2) with strong antifungal activity, achieving up to 99.3% growth inhibition of B. cinerea. In detached leaf assays, the isolates H3Rh1, ZRh5, GRh5, and SRh2 achieved inhibitory growth potential values of 92.33%, 93.73%, 93.02%, and 96.99% against B. cinerea, respectively. Molecular analysis confirmed the isolates as Arthrobacter globiformis, Priestia megaterium, Bacillus cabrialesii, and Bacillus mojavensis, with >99% sequence identity and deposited in Genbank. These strains also demonstrated strong plant growth-promoting attributes, including nitrogen fixation, phosphate and potassium solubilization, indole acetic acid and siderophore production. This study highlights the biocontrol potential of native rhizobacteria as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical fungicides for managing gray mold in grapevines and promoting sustainable viticulture.
Keywords: Antifungal, Botrytis cinerea, enzyme activity, grapevine, Soil microbiota
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 02 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hedfi, Wannasi, Al-Ani, Balbool, Tissaoui, Mougou-Hamdane, Hamdi, Abdel-Azeem and Rebouh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Lobna Hajji Hedfi, Regional Centre of Agricultural Research of Sidi Bouzid, Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia
Nazih Y. Rebouh, RUDN University, Moscow, Tunisia
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