Influence of Carbon and Nitrogen Sources in Solubilization of Hardly Soluble Mineral Phosphates by Penicillium Oxalicum CBPS-Tsa

Abstract

Phosphorus is one of the major plant growth limiting nutrients, despite being abundant in soils in both inorganic and organic forms. Phosphobioinoculants in the form of microorganisms can help in increasing the availability of accumulated phosphates for plant growth by solubilization. Penicillium oxalicum CBPSTsa, isolated from paddy rhizosphere, was studied for its phosphate solubilization. The influence of various carbon sources like glucose, sucrose, mannitol and sorbitol and nitrogen sources like arginine, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, ammonium chloride and ammonium sulphate were evaluated using liquid media with tricalcium phosphate (Ca-P), ferric phosphate (Fe-P) and aluminium phosphate (Al-P). Maximum soluble phosphate of 824 mg/L was found in the amendment of sucrose-sodium nitrate from 5 g/L of Ca-P. Mannitol, sorbitol, and ariginine were poor in phosphate solubilization. While sucrose was better carbon source in solubilization of Ca-P and Al-P, glucose fared better in solubilization of Fe-P. Though all the nitrogen sources enhanced P solubilization, nitrates were better than ammonium In the amendments of ammonium chloride and ammonium sulphate, higher uptake of available phosphates by the fungus was found, and this resulted in depletion of available P in Fe-P amendment Phosphate solubilization was accompanied by acidification of the media, and the highest pH decrease was observed in glucose amendment Among the nitrogen sources, ammonium chloride favored greater pH decrease.