Evaluation of Growth Promotion Traits of Ridge Gourd in Vitro and In Vivo Conditions Using Soil Rhizobacteria as Green Bioinoculants

Abstract

Abstract: Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are now a days an important source of biofertilizers, due to increasing trend of organic fertilizers and ill effects of chemical fertilizers. PGPBs are efficient soil microbes which enhance the nutrient utilization efficiency, growth of several crops and controlling soil borne pathogens. Ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L.) is a potential horticulture crop due to its high economic value and belongs to the family, Cucurbitaceae. In the present study, PGPB were isolated from the rhizospheric soil of 3 different crop fields (sugarcane, mustard and wheat) from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh were used to investigate their effect on growth pattern of ridge gourd. The isolates were screened for morphological, biochemical, and plant growth-promoting characterstics. Under in-vitro condition, inoculation of Ridge gourd with the P1, P2, B2, B3, B4, B5, R2, , R5, A2, A3, A5, A6, A7 showed a significant increase in seed germination and enhancement in elongation of root and shoot compared to control. Then isolated PGPB inoculated with Ridge gourd for Pot experiment and P1, P2, B2, B3, B4, B5, R2, R5, A2, A3, A4, A6, A7 showed the enhanced growth parameters as appearance of first leaf, flower and fruit as compared to the control. Hence, it can be concluded that application of PGPB has immense potential to be used as agricultural crop inoculants as they promote plant growth as well as improve the health and yield of the plants.