Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions
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University of Shahrekord
Abstract: (293 Views)
The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has led to significant environmental degradation and soil health decline. To promote sustainable agriculture, biofertilizers have emerged as a promising alternative. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) in enhancing the growth of almond cuttings under greenhouse conditions. A randomized complete block design was employed, with ten treatments: inoculation with (T1: inoculation with Paenibacillus sp. bacteria; T2: inoculation with Paenibacillus tundrae; T3: inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens; T4: inoculation with Pseudomonas baetica; T5: inoculation with Pseudomonas monteilii; T6: inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum; T7: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6; T8: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6 + 50% conventionally used chemical fertilizer; T9: application of 100% conventionally used chemical fertilizer and T10: control without bacterial inoculation). Plant growth parameters and nutrient concentrations were assessed. Results indicated that inoculation with P. tundrae (T2) increased leaf fresh weight by 34%, P. fluorescens (T3) boosted stem fresh weight by 33%, and a combination of all effective strains (T7) enhanced seedling height by 38% compared to the control. P. monteilii (T5) significantly increased the number of leaves per seedling (116%). Overall, the study demonstrates the potential of the investigated PGPB, particularly P. tundrae, P. fluorescens, and P. monteilii, as effective biofertilizers for almond cultivation. These bacteria can promote plant growth and development through various mechanisms.
Background and Objective: Almond growers have concluded that although intensive irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and pesticide inputs have led to significant increases in yields over the past decades, such practices often degrade natural resources and may compromise the ability of agricultural ecosystems to sustain production (Bobojonov et al., 2024; Lopus et al., 2010). There is a growing need to develop management strategies that improve soil ecological function and biodiversity to maintain the environmental, social, and economic performance of almond production systems. In particular, better exploitation of beneficial plant-microbe interactions, such as the use of biofertilizers containing plant growth-promoting bacteria, may offer opportunities to increase productivity while promoting natural soil ecological processes (Thirkell et al. 2017). To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of plant growth-promoting bacteria and chemical fertilizer application (the conventional method of almond cuttings cultivation) on almond cuttings growth indices under greenhouse conditions.
Methods: This research was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replication in a research greenhouse in Saman city (32° 30' 43" N., 50° 56' 16 "E., 2013 m a.s.l), Iran. The experimental treatments consisted of (T1: inoculation with Paenibacillus sp. bacteria; T2: inoculation with Paenibacillus tundrae; T3: inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens; T4: inoculation with Pseudomonas baetica; T5: inoculation with Pseudomonas monteilii; T6: inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum; T7: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6; T8: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6 + 50% conventionally used chemical fertilizer; T9: application of 100% conventionally used chemical fertilizer and T10: control without bacterial inoculation). Plant growth parameters and nutrient concentrations were assessed.
Results: The results indicate that inoculation with P. tundrae (T2) increased leaf fresh weight by 34%, while P. fluorescens (T3) boosted stem fresh weight by 33%. A combination of all effective strains (T7) enhanced seedling height by 38%, compared to the control. Furthermore, P. monteilii (T5) significantly increased the number of leaves per seedling by 116%. The highest concentrations of nitrogen (3.69%) and potassium (1.46%) were observed in treatment T2 (inoculation with P. tundrae), representing increases of 314% and 36.4%, respectively, compared to the control (T10). The highest concentration of phosphorus (0.127%) was found in treatment T6 (inoculation with A. chroococcum), which increased by 44.3% relative to the control (T10).
Conclusions: Overall, the results of this study indicate that the addition and inoculation of efficient bacteria on almond plants resulted in a relative increase in seedling growth through enhanced plant nutrition, improved absorption of nutrients such as phosphorus, iron, and nitrogen, and increased production of the hormone auxin under greenhouse conditions. In summary, the findings demonstrate that P. tundrae is the most effective bacterium isolated from the almond rhizosphere regarding its ability to stimulate and enhance plant growth, suggesting its potential use in the formulation of biofertilizers.
Background and Objective: Almond growers have concluded that although intensive irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and pesticide inputs have led to significant increases in yields over the past decades, such practices often degrade natural resources and may compromise the ability of agricultural ecosystems to sustain production (Bobojonov et al., 2024; Lopus et al., 2010). There is a growing need to develop management strategies that improve soil ecological function and biodiversity to maintain the environmental, social, and economic performance of almond production systems. In particular, better exploitation of beneficial plant-microbe interactions, such as the use of biofertilizers containing plant growth-promoting bacteria, may offer opportunities to increase productivity while promoting natural soil ecological processes (Thirkell et al. 2017). To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of plant growth-promoting bacteria and chemical fertilizer application (the conventional method of almond cuttings cultivation) on almond cuttings growth indices under greenhouse conditions.
Methods: This research was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replication in a research greenhouse in Saman city (32° 30' 43" N., 50° 56' 16 "E., 2013 m a.s.l), Iran. The experimental treatments consisted of (T1: inoculation with Paenibacillus sp. bacteria; T2: inoculation with Paenibacillus tundrae; T3: inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens; T4: inoculation with Pseudomonas baetica; T5: inoculation with Pseudomonas monteilii; T6: inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum; T7: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6; T8: inoculation with all bacterial isolates T1 to T6 + 50% conventionally used chemical fertilizer; T9: application of 100% conventionally used chemical fertilizer and T10: control without bacterial inoculation). Plant growth parameters and nutrient concentrations were assessed.
Results: The results indicate that inoculation with P. tundrae (T2) increased leaf fresh weight by 34%, while P. fluorescens (T3) boosted stem fresh weight by 33%. A combination of all effective strains (T7) enhanced seedling height by 38%, compared to the control. Furthermore, P. monteilii (T5) significantly increased the number of leaves per seedling by 116%. The highest concentrations of nitrogen (3.69%) and potassium (1.46%) were observed in treatment T2 (inoculation with P. tundrae), representing increases of 314% and 36.4%, respectively, compared to the control (T10). The highest concentration of phosphorus (0.127%) was found in treatment T6 (inoculation with A. chroococcum), which increased by 44.3% relative to the control (T10).
Conclusions: Overall, the results of this study indicate that the addition and inoculation of efficient bacteria on almond plants resulted in a relative increase in seedling growth through enhanced plant nutrition, improved absorption of nutrients such as phosphorus, iron, and nitrogen, and increased production of the hormone auxin under greenhouse conditions. In summary, the findings demonstrate that P. tundrae is the most effective bacterium isolated from the almond rhizosphere regarding its ability to stimulate and enhance plant growth, suggesting its potential use in the formulation of biofertilizers.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Plant growth promoting microrganisms in the rhizosphere
Received: 2024/12/14 | Accepted: 2025/03/1
Received: 2024/12/14 | Accepted: 2025/03/1
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Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions by http://jspi.iut.ac.ir is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
