Abstract
Abstract Phosphorus availability is the major constraint for plant growth in the acid soil ecosystem, due to high fixation by Al and Fe. Microbial fertilizers such as phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) can increase P availability in soils for root uptake. The objective of the research was to verify the ability of four isolates of PSB isolated from acid soil to solubilize unavailable inorganic phosphate, produce phosphatase, malic acid and indole acetic acid (IAA), as well as increase plant height of maize seedling. The bioassay by growing maize seedling in liquid nutrients has been performed to study the response of seedling to PSB inoculation. The experimental design of bioassay was a randomized block design with five replications. The results showed that the isolates RR 1 and SPR 4 had a relatively high solubilizing index. Moreover, all the PSB isolates had the ability to produce phosphatase and IAA and dissolve P. The performance of PSB-inoculated seedling was better visually and the root length was increased by 66.7–74.5% compared to the control. This result concludes that the species of four isolates needs to be identified by a biomolecular method and formulated as biofertilizers for increasing the maize productivity in the acid soil ecosystem.
Highlights
The major growth-limiting factor in tropical soil associated with acid soil infertility includes toxicity of aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) (Bojorquez et al 2017)
The phosphatesolubilizing bacteria (PSB) isolates were selected from agricultural soils and natural forest, resulting in four potential PSB isolates from rice rhizosphere (RR 1 and RR 2), peanut rhizosphere (PR 1) and sweet potato rhizosphere (SPR 4) as indicated by the largest halozones and solubilizing index (SI) of PSB on the Pikovskaya agar (Table 1)
The ability of four PSB isolates to dissolve P from fixed P can be observed from the phosphatase activity, organic acid production and the concentration of P dissolved in the Pikovskaya broth
Summary
The major growth-limiting factor in tropical soil associated with acid soil infertility includes toxicity of aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn) (Bojorquez et al 2017). This condition indicates that the soil has a low pH. The pH value indicates the amount of hydrogen ion concentration (H+) in the soil. The higher the levels of hydrogen ions in the soil, the lower the pH value of the soil and the more acidic the soil. Soils are acidic with an average pH value of 4.0–5.5. Soil acidity is often the main reason of the decline in productivity of various types of plants. The soil pH greatly affects the growth and reproductive investment of plants (Gentili et al 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
