Abstract
Banana, an important fruit crop, requires high amounts of N-fertilizers for commercial cultivation. This, however, is costly and can be hazardous to the soil environment when used excessively. Biofertilizer is globally accepted as an alternative source of N-fertilizer and can substantially supplement the N requirement while enhancing the uptake of water and mineral nutrients of crop plants. An experiment was conducted to observe the effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacterial inoculation on growth, nutrient uptake of bananas grown under hydroponics condition. The design of the experiment was randomized complete block with five replicates. The following six treatments were imposed: T1 (control; N0-PGPR), T2: (N0+Sp7), T3: (N0+ UPMB10), T4: (N33%+ Sp7), T5: (N33% + UPMB10), and T6: (N100%-PGPR). The results showed that inoculation by UPMB10 with minimal fertilizer-N supply increased (P < 0.05) the primary root elongation and secondary root initiation and subsequently increased (P < 0.05) the root biomass. The same treatment also increased (P < 0.05) N concentration in pseudostem and leaves and Ca concentration in roots. The total accumulation of N, P, K, Ca and Mg were increased due to inoculation; a consequence of increased plant growth. Plants with this treatment produced an equivalent total dry matter as those supplied with 100% N.
Highlights
The banana fruit crop is widely cultivated in tropical areas where high dosages of chemical fertilizers (NPK fertilizer) are commonly applied
The results strongly indicated that plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains Sp7 and UPMB10 inoculation influenced the plant growth of banana plantlets grown for 45 days
The results of this study concluded that PGPR inoculation increased the root growth, namely length, thickness, volume and root mass
Summary
The banana fruit crop is widely cultivated in tropical areas where high dosages of chemical fertilizers (NPK fertilizer) are commonly applied. Banana plants cannot store N and such deficiency symptoms quickly develop if supply is not sufficient. Banana suffers from a mismatch of its nitrogen demand and its nitrogen supplied as chemical fertilizer, resulting in a 50-70% loss of the fertilizer applied. Two approaches may be used in resolving this problem; one is to regulate the timing of nitrogen application based on the banana plant nutrient requirement, increasing the efficiency of the plant’s use of applied nitrogen. The other is to increase the efficiency of the use of available soil nitrogen and meet the additional N-demand by making banana capable of fixing its own nitrogen either directly, or via a close interaction with diazotrophic bacteria (Ladha et al, 1997)
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