Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation requires a large amount of phosphorus (P). However, most of the soils are P-deficient and the extensive use of P- chemical fertilizers constitute a serious threat to the environment. In this context, two field experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of co-inoculation of Mesorhizobium ciceri with phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), Bacillus sp., and Enterobacter aerogenes, on chickpea as an alternative to chemical nitrogen (N) and phosphorous fertilizers in P-deficient soils in dry areas of Morocco. The results revealed that combined inoculation of chickpea with rhizobia and PSB showed a significant enhancement of chickpea nodulation, biomass production, yields and N, P, and protein content in grains as compared to single inoculation or single application of N or P. A significantly higher increase was obtained by inoculating chickpea with Mesorhizobium sp. MA72 combined with E. aerogenes P1S6. This combination allowed an enhancement of more than 270% in nodulation, 192% in shoot dry weight and 242% in grain yield. The effect of this combination was equivalent to the effect of combined application of N and P fertilizers. Formulation of biofertilizers based on tasted strains could be used for chickpea co-inoculation in P-deficient soils for an eco-friendly sustainable production of chickpea.
Highlights
MA100 enhanced nodule number and dry weight compared to non-inoculated and nonPlants 2021, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEWfertilized control. This single inoculation with rhizobia alone does not induce a clear increase of nodulation except for treatments fertilized with phosphate
Zafar et al [73] reported that co-inoculation with rhizobia and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enhance top, root, and nodulation of Phaseolus vulgaris. These findings suggest that used PGPRs (M131 and P1S6) act synergistically with rhizobial strains (MA72 and MA100) in promoting nodules’ initiation or development
We assessed the effect of combined inoculation of chickpea with Mesorhizobium spp. and Bacillus sp. or E. aerogenes with or without mineral N
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), called Bengal gram or garbanzo bean, is the third most produced food legume in the word, and covers an area of approximately. 17.8 Million ha in 46 countries [1]. Chickpea production is predominant in semi-arid regions across the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan, Turkey, North Africa, Mexico, Middle East, Southern Europe, Canada, USA, and Australia. Morocco produced 36.3 × 103 tons of chickpea in a producing area of 86.8 × 103 ha during 2018 [1]. It is an ancient crop that holds an important place in the Mediterranean diet [2]
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