In brief, commercial finger millet seeds originating from India were germinated and grown in pails of Turface clay placed in the field (Arkell Field Station, Arkell, ON, Canada, GPS: 43°39′ N, 80°25′ W, and 375 m above sea level). At the pre-flowering stage, five samples were collected from seeds, intact roots and shoots. For large scale fermentation, each endophyte was fermented in 2 L flasks (five flasks per each endophyte) containing 50 g white rice and 100 mL H₂O. The flasks were incubated at 25 °C for 30 days without shaking.