Fungal rock phosphate solubilization using sugarcane bagasse

The effects of different doses of rock phosphate (RP), sucrose, and (NH4)(2)SO4 on the solubilization of RP from Araxa and Catalo (Brazil) by Aspergillus niger, Penicillium canescens, Eupenicillium ludwigii, and Penicillium islandicum were evaluated in a solid-state fermentation (SSF) system with sugarcane bagasse. The factors evaluated were combined following a 2(3) + 1 factorial design to determine their optimum concentrations. The fitted response surfaces showed that higher doses of RP promoted higher phosphorus (P) solubilization. The addition of sucrose did not have effects on P solubilization in most treatments due to the presence of soluble sugars in the bagasse. Except for A. niger, all the fungi required high (NH4)(2)SO4 doses to achieve the highest level of P solubilization. Inversely, addition of (NH4)(2)SO4 was inhibitory to P solubilization by A. niger. Among the fungi tested, A. niger stood out, showing the highest solubilization capacity and for not requiring sucrose or (NH4)(2)SO4 supplementation. An additional experiment with A. niger showed that the content of soluble P can be increased by adding higher RP doses in the medium. However, P yield decreases with increasing RP doses. In this experiment, the maximal P yield (approximately 60 %) was achieved with the lower RP dose (3 g L-1). Our results show that SSF can be used to obtain a low cost biofertilizer rich in P combining RP, sugarcane bagasse, and A. niger. Moreover, sugarcane bagasse is a suitable substrate for SSF aiming at RP solubilization, since this residue can supply the C and N necessary for the metabolism of A. niger within a range that favors RP solubilization.