244-248Withania somnifera is a medicinal plant well documented for its health benefits since ancient times. The present study was aimed at comparing the effectiveness of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the growth and yield of W. somnifera. Nine different PGPR were screened for their efficiency. Some of the PGPR used like Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum brasilense, are well known for their growth promotion in plants, some like Methylobacterium radiotolerans, Exiguobacterium acetylicum, Paenibacillus polymyxa, Pantoea dispersa and Bacillus sonorensis were used for the first time to see their influence on W. somnifera. Plants inoculated with PGPR showed significantly improved growth and yield compared to the uninoculated plants. The results of this study suggest that Bacillus sonorensis has a great potential to increase the growth and yield of W. somnifera and possesses all the PGPR traits and therefore can be used for inoculating W. somnifera.</i
