OAR@ICRISATDirect and indirect plant growth-promoting abilities of Bacillus species on chickpea, isolated from compost and rhizosphere soilsMSreevidyaauthorSGopalakrishnanauthorA study was carried out to test the effect of direct and indirect plant growth-promoting traits of bacteria, isolated from compost and rhizosphere soils, on chickpea. A total of 74 bacteria were isolated from herbal vermicomposts and rhizosphere soils of chickpea and screened for their antagonistic potential against soil-borne fungal pathogens of chickpea. Of which, four bacterial isolates (VBI-4, VBI-19, VBI-23, and SBI-23) were found to be promising in both dual culture and metabolite production assays. These isolates were identified as Bacillus species by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence analysis. Under in vitro conditions, all the isolates were found to produce protease, cellulase, β-1,3-glucanase, siderophore, indole acetic acid, lipase (except VBI-19), and hydrocyanic acid (except VBI-23 and SBI-23). All the isolates were tolerant to fungicides such as bavistin, captan, benlate, ridomil (only VBI-23 and SBI-23), and thiram (only VBI-4 and VBI-19) at field application rates. The isolates were also found to tolerate NaCl concentration of up to 8 % (VBI-23 up to 10 %), temperature range of 20 to 40 °C, and a pH range of 7 to 11 (SBI-23 up to only 9). When the isolates were evaluated for their plant growth promotion (PGP) ability under greenhouse and field conditions on chickpea, all the isolates were able to increase growth parameters including nodule number, plant growth, and yield parameters when compared to uninoculated control. The isolates also increased the soil mineral properties including total N, available P, organic carbon (OC) %, microbial biomass C, and dehydrogenase activity in rhizosphere, at both flowering and harvest stages over the uninoculated control plots. All the isolates were found to colonize chickpea roots when observed under scanning electron microscope. This investigation indicated the PGP potential of selected bacteria in chickpea cultivation.Chickpea2017-03Springer NetherlandsArticle

For work being deposited by its own author: In self-archiving this collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata, I grant OAR@ICRISAT the right to store them and to make them permanently available publicly for free on-line. I declare that this material is my own intellectual property and I understand that OAR@ICRISAT does not assume any responsibility if there is any breach of copyright in distributing these files or metadata. (All authors are urged to prominently assert their copyright on the title page of their work.)

For work being deposited by someone other than its author: I hereby declare that the collection of files and associated bibliographic metadata that I am archiving at OAR@ICRISAT) is in the public domain. If this is not the case, I accept full responsibility for any breach of copyright that distributing these files or metadata may entail.

Clicking on the deposit button indicates your agreement to these terms.