The Effect of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria on Barley Seedling Growth, Nutrient Uptake, Some Soil Properties, and Bacterial Counts

This study was conducted with barley in greenhouse conditions in order to investigate seed inoculation with 5 different N2-fixing (Bacillus licheniformis RC02, Rhodobacter capsulatus RC04, Paenibacillus polymyxa RC05, Pseudomonas putida RC06, and Bacillus OSU-142) and 2 different phosphate-solubilising (Bacillus megaterium RC01 and Bacillus M-13) bacteria in comparison to control and mineral fertiliser (N and P) application. Among the strains used in the present study, 6 plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) stimulated indole acetic acid (IAA) production and 3 of them stimulated phosphate solubilisation; all bacterial strains fixed N2 and significantly increased the growth of barley. Available phosphate in soil was significantly increased by seed inoculation with Bacillus M-13 and B. megaterium RC01. Maximum NO3-N was found in soil after inoculation with N2-fixing Bacillus OSU-142, followed by P. polymyxa RC05 and R. capsulatus RC04. Total culturable bacteria count increased in all treatments with time, whereas N2-fixing bacteria decreased with time, except with B. megaterium RC01 inoculation. The data suggest that seed inoculation of barley with plant PGPR increased root weight by 17.9%-32.1% as compared to the control, and increased shoot weight by 28.8%-54.2%, depending on the species. N2-fixing bacterial inoculation significantly increased uptake of N, Fe, Mn, and Zn by barley. The production of hormones is suggested to be one of the mechanisms by which PGPR stimulate barley growth. Effective Bacillus species, such as OSU-142, RC07, M-13, P. polymyxa RC05, P. putida RC06, and R. capsulatus RC04, may be used in agriculture

Effects of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) on yield, growth and nutrient contents of organically grown strawberry

The effects of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) on the fruit yield, growth and nutrient element content of strawberry cv. Fern were investigated under organic growing conditions between 2006 and 2008. The experimental plot was a completely randomized design with 3 replicates. Three PGPB strains (Pseudomonas BA-8, Bacillus OSU-142 and Bacillus M-3) were used alone or in combination as biofertilizer agent in the experiment. Data through 3 years showed that the use of PGPB significantly increased fruit yield, plant growth and leaf P and Zn contents. Root inoculation of M3 and floral and foliar spraying of OSU-142 and BA-8 bacteria stimulated plant growth resulting in significant yield increases. M3 + BA-8, BA-8 + OSU-142, M3, M3 + OSU-142 and BA-8 applications increased cumulative yield by 33.2%, 18.4%, 18.2%, 15.3% and 10.5%, respectively. Number of fruits per plant significantly increased by the applications of M3 + BA-8 (91.73) and M3 (81.58) compared with the control (68.66). In addition, P and Zn contents of strawberry leaves with bacterial inoculation significantly increased under organic growing conditions. Available P contents in soil were increased from 0.35 kg P2O5/da at the beginning of the study to 2.00, 1.97 and 1.82 kg P2O5/da by M3 + OSU-142, M3 + BA-8 and M3 + BA-8 + OSU-142 applications, respectively. Overall, the results of this study suggest that root inoculation of Bacillus M3 alone or in combination with spraying Bacillus OSU-142 or Pseudomonas BA-8 have the potential to increase the yield, growth and nutrition content of strawberry plant under organic growing conditions