Novel liquid microbial consortium of mineral availing and phytohormones producing bio-inoculants for plant growth promotion of garlic (Allium sativum L.) in hilly regions of Indian Himalayas
摘要
In nature, microbes and plants can form associations that are either advantageous or harmful to the host plant. One strategy to produce crops in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner is to encourage favorable plant microbe interactions for the enhancement of crop yield and quality. The present investigation deals to isolate and characterize plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria associated with garlic (Allium sativum L.) from Himalayan region of Kinnaur and Baru Sahib. A total of 196 bacteria were isolated and opted for in vitro characterization of PGP ability including solubilization of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), N2-fixation, production of gibberellins, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and various extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. Molecular identity and authenticity were accomplished using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic approach, selected bacterial strains EU-GRN-78 (N2-fixer), EU-GRN-132 (P-solubilizer), EU-GRN-23 (K-solubilizer) and EU-GRN-46 (gibberellin producer) were identified as Scandinavium hiltneri, Pseudomonas guinea, Citricoccus muralis, and Sporosarcina globispora respectively. The identified strains were submitted to NCBI GenBank database and then assed for compatibity and evaluated as single inoculum and in combination on garlic crop under in vitro conditions. On the basis of results of pot experiment, all the strains were further evaluated under in vivo condition. Results from a subsequent green house and field experiment indicated that formulation of microbial consortium distinctly increased garlic shoot and root length, fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll as well as phenolic and flavonoids contents. In best of our knowledge, the present investigation is first report on Scandinavium hiltneri EU-GRN-78, Pseudomonas guinea EU-GRN-132, Citricoccus muralis EU-GRN-23, and Sporosarcina globispora EU-GRN-46 associated with endophytic and rhizospheric region of garlic and also reported first time as microbial consortium of these strains on growth enhancement of garlic. In a finding, formulation of microbial consortium were found to be greater ability to improve the growth of garlic and the potential to be developed as ideal bioinoculants for integrated nutrient management tactics.