What does the published scientific research say about Rhizopus oryzae?

Eight PubMed records index Rhizopus oryzae — also known as Rhizopus arrhizus — in a plant-input context, and the picture is genuinely dual.

Peer-reviewed research documents this zygomycete both as a crop pathogen and as a candidate plant growth-promoting fungus (PGPF). Cited abstracts link R. oryzae to sweetpotato postharvest rot in the tropics, tobacco pole rot during flue-curing, and cotton seedling preemergence damping-off — the last found unresponsive to metalaxyl seed treatment in one field study.

Separate research isolated R. oryzae as a PGPF and reported in vivo reductions in Fusarium wilt disease severity in tomato by 37.5%, alongside improved plant growth markers. A saline-alkaline soil study found that bio-fertilizer application increased Rhizopus arrhizus abundance in oat rhizospheres while decreasing fungal pathogen levels — all cited in the literature, not regulatory endorsements.

Biocontrol research also targets R. oryzae directly: Bacillus subtilis lipopeptides inhibited its growth by 56% in vitro, and Trichoderma spp. provided effective biological control of R. oryzae-driven cotton damping-off. No approved label claims or regulatory findings appear in this PubMed record set.