Abstract
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) are natural soil bacteria which establish a beneficial relationship with their host. This microbiota community exists in the rhizosphere and inside plant tissues and stimulates plant growth by a variety of direct or indirect mechanisms. These bacterial plant promoters are frequently present in different environments, and are associated with many plant species, both wild and agricultural. Saffron is the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus (L.) and is the most expensive spice in the world. Remarkably, saffron cultivation and collection is carried out by hand and does not involve the use of machines. Additionally, 150 flowers are needed to produce one gram of dried stigmas. Hence, a slight increase in the size of the saffron filaments per plant would result in a significant increase in the production of this spice. In this study, we report the improved production of saffron using Curtobacterium herbarum Cs10, isolated from Crocus seronitus subs clusii, as a bioinoculant. The bacterial strain was selected owing to its multifunctional ability to produce siderophores, solubilize phosphate and to produce plant growth hormones like IAA. Furthermore, the isolate was tested on saffron producing plants under greenhouse conditions. The results indicate that Curtobacterium herbarum Cs10 improves the number of flowers and significantly enhances the length of the saffron filaments and overall saffron production compared to the control treated plants.
Highlights
The rhizosphere is a hot spot of microbial diversity where root exudates provide energy sources and nutrients, which result in an increase in the microbial population within this ecological niche [1]
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) are natural soil bacteria which establish a beneficial relationship with their host
The results indicate that Curtobacterium herbarum Cs10 improves the number of flowers and significantly enhances the length of the saffron filaments and overall saffron production compared to the control treated plants
Summary
The rhizosphere is a hot spot of microbial diversity where root exudates provide energy sources and nutrients, which result in an increase in the microbial population within this ecological niche [1]. There are mainly two types of soil bacteria that can act as PGPR: rhizospheric bacteria, defined as the rhizospheric biota able to colonize root surfaces [3] and endophytic bacteria, defined as the bacteria that colonize plant tissues, which reside in the vascular system [5], in the intercellular space [6] or within the cells [7] without producing any negative damage to the host [4] Both types of bacteria trigger similar mechanisms of growth stimulation [8,9]. Direct mechanisms on the other hand, occur inside the plant and directly affect to host’s metabolism, such as in the production of phytohormones (auxins, cytokinins and gibberellins) [17], and/or the reduction of abiotic stress, such as plant ethylene levels by synthesising ACC-deaminase [18] These bacterial plant promoters are commonly present in different environments and are associated with many plant species, both wild and agricultural [9]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the endophyte Curtobacterium herbarum Cs10, isolated from wild Crocus serotinus subs clusii, as a potential bioinoculant in saffron production
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