Growth and yield response of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to inoculation with rhizobacteria

Abstract

The growth and yield response of spring wheat to inoculation with foreign and local rhizobacteria of Erzurum (Turkey) origin was studied. At the first stage of the research, a greenhouse experiment was carried out with wheat cv. Kirik using 75 local bacterial strains isolated from the soil with 6 foreign bacteria, and a control. According to results of the greenhouse experiment 9 local strains were identified. At the second stage, the response of wheat cv. Kirik to 20 treatments (9 local strains, 6 foreign bacteria, 4 levels of N, and a control) was investigated in Erzurum field conditions. Seventeen strains had significant positive effects on tiller number per plant, 47 strains on plant height, one strain on dry matter yield, and 28 strains on plant protein content in the greenhouse experiment. Inoculation with certain rhizobacteria clearly benefited growth and increased the grain and N-yield of field grown wheat. The effects of local strains were observed to be in general superior to those of foreign strains. Inoculation with the local Strain No. 19, 73, and 82 increased total biomass by 18.7, 18.1, and 19.9%; grain yield by 18.6, 17.7, and 18.0%; total N-yield by 27.5, 24.3 and 26.0%, respectively, as compared to control. In conclusion, Strain No. 19, 73, and 82 can be a suitable biofertilizer for spring wheat cultivation in areas with similar conditions as in Erzurum. Inoculation with these strains may lead both to increases in wheat yield and savings of nitrogen fertilizer.