Abstract
Salinity is a major detrimental factor for plant growth and crop productivity that could be alleviated by the use of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) with a protective role in such stressful conditions. In this study, four native strains of the genus Pseudomonas were isolated from both a strongly saline soil and the rhizosphere of soybean plants grown in a slightly saline soil. These isolates were able to tolerate high NaCl concentration, showed efficient adhesion to biotic and abiotic surfaces and efficiently colonized the rhizosphere of soybean grown in slightly saline soil. In these conditions, the four strains outperformed Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a strain known as a good root colonizer of different plants. Inoculation with all the isolates improved seed germination and vigor index, particularly in saline conditions, and one of them also had a positive effect on shoot length and phenological state of soybean plants grown in slightly saline soil. Our results suggest that the search for classical plant growth promotion traits may not be mandatory for selecting putative PGPB. Instead, characteristics such as stress tolerance, adhesion, competitive colonization, and plant growth promotion should be tested using the soil types and crops in which the bacteria will be used.
Highlights
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is the most widely produced and consumed oilseed crop worldwide
The electrical conductivity (EC) values of the saline soils is extremely different (1.5 and 29.8 dS/m), due to the natural slope of the field which favors the accumulation of soluble salts after irrigation and rainfall
Soils with EC ≤ 2 dS/m are not classified as saline, the saline soil with EC = 1.5 was considered a slightly saline soil due to the high Na+ content compared to the non-saline soil (Table 1), and the fact that many plant species decrease their productivity in such soil
Summary
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is the most widely produced and consumed oilseed crop worldwide. Soybeans and their by-products are used in human and livestock feed. The main constraint to its cultivation is drought, which is closely related to soil salinity; seedlings are considered a salt-sensitive to moderately salt-tolerant crop [1]. Often caused by poor land management, is one of the main problems affecting crop productivity and is expected to cause the loss of almost 50% of the total agricultural land area by 2050 [4,5]. In addition to education and training efforts to ensure proper land management by producers, alternatives strategies are required for improving crop productivity in salinity-affected lands
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