Abstract
Inoculation of leguminous seeds with bioinoculants has been practiced in agriculture for decades to ameliorate grain yield by enhanced growth parameters and soil fertility. However, effective enhancement of plant growth parameters results not only from the direct effects these bioinoculants impose on them but also from their non-target effects. The ability of bioinoculants to reduce the application of chemicals for obtaining optimum yield of legume appears to be of great ecological and economic importance. In the present study, we compared the influence of seed inoculation of Cajanus cajan with a microbial consortium, comprising Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum, with that of application of chemical fertilizers on plant’s growth parameters and its rhizospheric microbial communities. Real-time PCR assay was carried out to target the structure (16S rRNA) and function (nitrogen cycle) of rhizospheric microbiota, using both DNA and RNA as markers. The results showed that the microbial consortium was the most efficient in increasing grain yield (2.5-fold), even better than the recommended dose of chemical fertilizers (by 1.2-fold) and showed enhancement in nifH and amoA transcripts by 2.7- and 2.0-fold, respectively. No adverse effects of bioinoculants' application were observed over the rhizospheric microbial community, rendering the consortium to be safe for release in agricultural fields.
Highlights
In the present century the increasing population has pressurized agriculture in two manners, first the ardent need to meet the demand for food grains, and second to meet these demands in an environmental friendly fashion
The present study aims to assess and compare the target as well as non-target effects of a microbial consortium, comprising three selected bioinoculants, (Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum), which had been earlier reported to result in significant enhancement on various parameters of Cajanus cajan [4] with that of chemical fertilizers at recommended dose, using cultivation-independent approach
It was found that the treatments with the microbial consortium and/or chemical fertilizers showed enhancement of plant parameters over control at the maturity stage of the plant (Fig 1)
Summary
In the present century the increasing population has pressurized agriculture in two manners, first the ardent need to meet the demand for food grains, and second to meet these demands in an environmental friendly fashion. Effect of Agricultural Amendments on Cajanus cajan farming, application of bioinoculants, and modified cropping systems. The use of chemical fertilizers has led to an enhancement in improved agricultural production, several major health and environment related concerns have been associated with them [1]. The widespread problem of plant pathogens makes it necessary to explore new methods to secure plant growth and their health [2]. There has been an increased popularity of bioinoculants owing to their soil or plant origin
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