Effect of co-inoculation of Bacillus aryabhattai and Bacillus vallismortis in ameliorating water stress in Eryngium foetidum under greenhouse condition
摘要
Plants are often exposed to various abiotic stresses that hinder growth, development, and yield. Drought, a major stress, threatens global productivity and may worsen with climate change. To cope, plants adapt through morphological, metabolic, and cellular changes to endure stress. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of co-inoculation with 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase producing Bacillus aryabhattai and Bacillus vallismortis on the alleviation of drought stress in Eryngium foetidum L. under greenhouse conditions. Dual inoculated plants demonstrated better performance compared to uninoculated or single-inoculated plants under two cycles of drought stress. Significant improvements were observed in root length (2.8 fold), shoot length (two fold), root fresh weight (two fold), and shoot fresh weight (three fold), along with an increase in the number of leaves and leaf surface area with dual inoculated plants. Flowering was exclusively noted in plants inoculated with