Abstract
Salinity significantly impacts the growth, development, and reproductive biology of various crops such as vegetables. The cultivable area is reduced due to the accumulation of salts and chemicals currently in use and is not amenable to a large extent to avoid such abiotic stress factors. The addition of microbes enriches the soil without any adverse effects. The effects of microbial consortia comprising Bacillus sp., Delftia sp., Enterobacter sp., Achromobacter sp., was evaluated on the growth and mineral uptake in tomatoes (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) under salt stress and normal soil conditions. Salinity treatments comprising Ec 0, 2, 5, and 8 dS/m were established by mixing soil with seawater until the desired Ec was achieved. The seedlings were transplanted in the pots of the respective pH and were inoculated with microbial consortia. After sufficient growth, these seedlings were transplanted in soil seedling trays. The measurement of soil minerals such as Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn, and pH and the Ec were evaluated and compared with the control 0 days, 15 days, and 35 days after inoculation. The results were found to be non-significant for the soil parameters. In the uninoculated seedlings’ (control) seedling trays, salt treatment significantly affected leaf, shoot, root dry weight, shoot height, number of secondary roots, chlorophyll, and mineral contents. While bacterized seedlings sown under saline soil significantly increased leaf (105.17%), shoot (105.62%), root (109.06%) dry weight, leaf number (75.68%), shoot length (92.95%), root length (146.14%), secondary roots (91.23%), and chlorophyll content (−61.49%) as compared to the control (without consortia). The Na and K intake were higher even in the presence of the microbes, but the beneficial effect of the microbe helps plants sustain in the saline environment. The inoculation of microbial consortia produced more secondary roots, which accumulate more minerals and transport substances to the different parts of the plant; thus, it produced higher biomass and growth. Results of the present study revealed that the treatment with microbial consortia could alleviate the deleterious effects of salinity stress and improve the growth of tomato plants under salinity stress. Microbial consortia appear to be the best alternative and cost-effective and sustainable approach for managing soil salinity and improving plant growth under salt stress conditions.
Highlights
Plants and their products serve as major sources of energy to humans; they have an important role in the sustainability of the ecosystem [1]
Halo tolerant rhizobacterial strains were selected based on their phosphate solubilization and production of siderophores, ammonia, and indole acetic acid (IAA)
The plant growth-related parameters were adversely affected by the higher electrical conductivity (Ec) levels of the soil
Summary
Plants and their products serve as major sources of energy to humans; they have an important role in the sustainability of the ecosystem [1]. The soil along with the plants are adversely affected by the diverse abiotic and biotic factors. An excess amount of salt present in the soil, is one of the significant problems. In India, seven million hectares of land are under salinity stress across the Indo-Gangetic plain [2], as well as other regions such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh in India. Salinity is a dominant abiotic stress that affects the productivity and quality of a crop [3,4,5,6,7]. Salinity adversely affects the majority of horticultural crops, especially vegetables as their tolerance level is 2 dS/m−1 [1]. The gradual accumulation of salts would disturb the metabolic processes of the plants, and if such stress appears at the reproductive stage, yield will be reduced to less than 50%
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