Abstract
Most soils contain insoluble inorganic phosphates but they are of no use to crops unless it is solubilised. Hence phosphate solubilising microorganisms play a key role in solubilising the tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and make it available to the plants. The present study was aimed to isolate and characterize the selected phosphate solubilizing bacteria from rhizospheric soil of tea from Singla Tea Estate, Darjeeling. Bacteria which showed clear zones in Pikovskaya’s agar were selected and screened for further characterization. The two isolates were found to solubilise TCP in Pikovskaya agar and were designated as GCS1 and GCS2. In vitro phosphate solubilisation ability of these isolates was determined and it was observed that phosphate solubilisation was associated with the reduction in the pH of the medium. These isolates were also found to produce growth promoting substance IAA. These isolates were found to survive well at different pH levels of 5, 7 and 9 and at two different temperatures (room temperature and 370C). Germination of fenugreek seeds were augmented by these isolates. The isolates were identified as Kurthia sp. (GCS1) and Bacillus cereus (GCS2) at IMTECH, Chandigarh, India. This study revealed the presence of potent phosphate solubilising bacteria from rhizosphere tea plants which may be used as bioinoculants after detailed on-farm as well as off-farm investigations.
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