Abstract
Potassium (K) is the foremost macronutrients for growth of plant, soil health and fertility. The huge application of NPK chemical fertilizers negatively impacts the economy and is a threat to environmental sustainability. The rapid depletion of K mineral in soil is due to the application of agrochemicals agricultural fields for the production of crops in India. In present investigation, K-solubilizing microbes (KSM) were isolated and enumerated from cereal crops growing in Sirmour Himachal Pradesh. A total 125 bacteria were isolated and screened for K- solubilization on Aleksandrov agar plates and found that 31 bacterial strains exhibited K-solubilization. These 31 K-solubilizing strains of bacteria were additionally screened for other plant growth promoting (PGP) potential including solubilization of minerals, production of siderophores, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and indole acetic acids. The performance of an efficient K-solubilizer was evaluated for plant growth promoting ability in pot assay under in vitro conditions. The strain EU-LWNA-25 positively influenced shoot length, fresh weight, carotenoids and total sugar content than the full dose, half dose and control. The strain enhancing physiological and growth parameters was identified by BLASTn analysis as Pseudomonas gessardii EU-LWNA-25. K-solubilizing plant growth promoting bacteria could be suitable bioinoculants for Rabi seasonal crops and overcomes the challenges of sustainable agriculture in K-deficient soil.
Highlights
Potassium (K), the 7th most abundant, is one of the vital nutrients which is requisite in large quantity for functioning of cells by all living organisms
Once the microbes were isolated, the colonies were purified on respective growth media and obtained single distinct colonies of bacteria were preserved for future use
LW-NA-25 was inoculated in culture media and incubated at 30 oC for 24 hr in incubator shaker
Summary
Potassium (K), the 7th most abundant, is one of the vital nutrients which is requisite in large quantity for functioning of cells by all living organisms. It plays a major role in activation and production of enzymes that are involved in regulating the photosynthesis rate i.e. adenosine triphosphate and transportation of water and nutrients throughout the plant. The deficient supply of potassium in plants depressed the translocation of amino acids, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), nitrates, and phosphates. To fulfill the plant nutrient requirement, potassium fertilizer is being used on a huge level around the globe. The use of fertilizer has a harmful impact on the environment and it is necessary to have a substitute indigenous source of potassium that produces crops in
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