Abstract
Arid regions pose a serious problem for crop production by suppressing plant growth. The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as bioinoculant may be promising to enhance the crop yield in arid conditions. In the present investigation, four strains of cultivable bacteria associated with the rhizosphere of Saccharum L. grown in arid region were isolated using N-free media. Assessment of their nitrogen-fixing ability through amplification of nifH gene showed the presence of nifH gene (390 bp) in only one (MDB4) of the four isolates. The nitrogen-fixing potential of this isolate was confirmed by the presence of nitrogenase activity determined using acetylene reduction assay. The diazotrophic MDB4 isolate also exhibited other PGPR traits, such as the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and ammonia. In pot experiments, inoculation of Bt-cotton seeds with MDB4 enhanced the growth of plants as shown by significant increase in plant height (68.41 %), shoot dry weight (58.44 %) and root dry weight (64.81 %) over untreated control. The MDB4 strain was Gram negative and identified as Brevundimonas sp. on the basis of phenotypic, biochemical, phylogenetic and 16S rRNA gene sequencing data. It is concluded that the MDB4 bacterial strain having different plant growth promoting activities can be considered as a beneficial microbe for sustainable agriculture in arid regions.
Highlights
The arid zone of India covers an area of 38.7 million hectare (m ha), out of which 31.7 m ha comes under hot arid zone (Gothwal et al 2008)
It is concluded that the MDB4 bacterial strain having different plant growth promoting activities can be considered as a beneficial microbe for sustainable agriculture in arid regions
The present study reports the isolation and identification of multi-trait Brevundimonas sp. having nitrogen fixing ability as well as other plant growth promoting activities and evaluation of its effect on the growth of Bt-cotton
Summary
The arid zone of India covers an area of 38.7 million hectare (m ha), out of which 31.7 m ha comes under hot arid zone (Gothwal et al 2008). The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as bioinoculant may be promising to enhance the crop yield in arid conditions. Inoculation of Bt-cotton seeds with MDB4 enhanced the growth of plants as shown by significant increase in plant height (68.41 %), shoot dry weight (58.44 %) and root dry weight (64.81 %) over untreated control.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
