13-19A long term study
has been carried out for over a decade across various tea gardens, located in
different parts of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), with a focus on rhizosphere
microbiology of tea. Occurrence of ‘negative rhizosphere effect’ exerted by the
established tea bushes, in contrast to the normal stimulatory effect exhibited
by the plants in general as well as young tea bushes, is the first and foremost
feature associated with tea plants. Colonization by large populations of
antagonists and lowering of the soil pH
are the other important characteristics associated with tea rhizosphere. With a
view of scaling down the use of chemical fertilizers, experiments were
conducted on isolation, characterization and formulation of suitable microbial
inoculants for use in tea plantations across hilly regions. Based on a number of attributes related to plant growth
promotion and disease control, selected bacterial and mycorrhizal
species have been developed in suitable formulations for application in tea
plantations. The post-application observations indicated the benefits of
microbial inoculations on seed, cutting and tissue culture raised tea plants.
The present paper is an attempt to review the basic and applied research work
carried out on rhizosphere microbiology of tea, particularly in the last two
decades, with reference to possible application in the tea industry.
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