Combining phosphorus (P) with phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) improved wheat yield and P uptake in alkaline soil

Abstract

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria can reduce dependence on chemical phosphorus (P) fertilizers by mineralizing and solubilizing indigenous soil P. What’s why, we assessed the interactive effect of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (with and without PSB) and phosphorus levels (60, 90 and 120 kg P2O5 ha-1) on P uptake and yield of wheat crop under field conditions. Two factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was used. The PSB inoculation significantly enhanced plant height (3%), 1000 grains weight (12%), grain (6%), biological (13%) and straw yield (18.5%) of wheat over control. Inoculation with PSB also significantly improved plant P concentration and uptake (26% each) over un-inoculated control. Similarly, with increasing application rates of P from 60 to 120 kg P2O5 ha-1 the tested parameter were significantly improved except straw yield. The interactive effect of PSB and P exhibited significant effect on 1000 grains weight while the rest of parameter didn’t respond significantly. However, generally PSB inoculation with P enhanced yield attributes and improved P use efficiency over sole application of P. Thus it may be concluded that PSB should be applied with P to enhance wheat yield and P use efficiency. Keywords: Alkaline soils; PSB inoculation; Phosphorus uptake; Wheat http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2019.80124