The sunflower is one of the most economically important plant species. Sufficient mineral nutrition is a prerequisite for successful plant growth and development. Since the addition of fertilizers can increase both yield performance and plant growth, choosing the right fertilizer is vital for agriculture success. Since ordinary chemical fertilizers can be damaging to the environment, a great deal of emphasis has recently been placed on natural biofertilizers, which, in addition to the mineral component of the fertilizer, contain the so-called biological promotors, the most numerous being mycorrhizal fungi and PGPB (Plant growth promoting bacteria), which promote plant growth and development. PGPBs have several mechanisms of interaction with the plant, including: biological nitrogen fixation, production of indole compounds, and production of siderophores, ACC deaminase activity, and phosphate dissolution. Most PGPB bacteria are found in the rhizosphere, this refers to the thin layer of soil that directly surrounds the root system of the plants. In our thesis we studied the influence of these biopromotors on the mineral nutrition of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.) by means of a designed experiment. We designed the experiment by planting sunflowers with three different treatments. The first batch was a control and no biofertilizer was given to this group of sunflowers. An autoclaved biofertilizer was added to the second batch of samples, and the organic component of the biofertilizer was removed by autoclaving. The third batch of samples received unchanged biofertilizer. After one month of growth, the samples were weighed and analysed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. In addition, the content of photosynthetic pigments was determined on shoots as an indicator of sunflower nutrition. The hypothesis that sunflowers with fertilizer with biological accelerators will grow more and have a more optimal value of mineral substances than sunflowers with fertilizer without biological accelerators has been rejected after the statistical treatment of samples. The samples were statistically different in only three items. Phosphorus and potassium concentrations differed in the shoots and copper in the roots. The positive effect of biopromotors on the biofertilizer used in the experiment has not been confirmed.
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