Abstract
Oil palm and banana are the biggest commodity crop and the second largest fruit crop planted in Malaysia. Both oil palm and banana are highly nutrient-demanding crops that requires a large amount of fertilizer input. This presents an opportunity to find alternative source of nutrient that is much cheaper than the imported inorganic fertilizer. Currently, the most feasible alternative to the inorganic fertilizer is the recycling of the organic-rich oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) to produce EFB compost as well as the incorporation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) and phosphate-solubilising bacteria (PSB) to the EFB compost to increase the supply of nitrogen and phosphorous to the plant at different stages of growth. Hence, the objective of this study was to isolate, screen and identify indigenous bacterium, from the root surroundings of oil palm and banana plant, with highest nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilizing properties. Three NFB and PSB strains (Enterobacter cloaceae KU886016, Burkholderia cepacia KU925862, Serratia marcescens KU925861), were successfully isolated and formulated as biofertilizer for evaluation on oil palm and banana seedlings. Enterobacter cloaceae KU886016 showed higher root colonization ability compared to Burkholderia cepacia KU925862 and Serratia marcescens KU925861, as shown from the FESEM analysis. This finding is important as a direct indication on the suitability of using these bacteria in field application as biofertilizer. Long-term expectation is for this finding to be able to assist in reducing the dependency on imported inorganic fertilizers, reducing operational cost as well as promoting sustainable soil health.
Highlights
Banana and oil palm are two nutrient-demanding crops that require a large amount of fertilizer input during both vegetative and reproductive stage
The most feasible alternative to the inorganic fertilizer is the recycling of the organic-rich oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) to produce EFB compost as well as the incorporation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) and phosphatesolubilising bacteria (PSB) to the EFB compost to increase the supply of nitrogen and phosphorous to the plant at different stages of growth
The oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost which consisted of high nutrient content of K, N and P has great potential to be utilized as fertilizer for oil palm and banana
Summary
Banana and oil palm are two nutrient-demanding crops that require a large amount of fertilizer input during both vegetative and reproductive stage. The oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost which consisted of high nutrient content of K, N and P has great potential to be utilized as fertilizer for oil palm and banana. This is expected to substantially reduce the use of the relatively more expensive imported inorganic chemicals as source for fertilizer. Apart from this, the application of N-fixing and Psolubilizing bacteria into the EFB compost can further reduce the dependency on inorganic N and P fertilizers It is the objective of this study to isolate and identify indigenous N-fixing and P-solubilizing bacteria from the roots of mature oil palm and banana plants. Its potential for application in biofertilizer was evaluated through its ability to colonize root systems of oil palm and banana plants
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