Potency of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Ipomea pes-caprae roots: Initial microscopic and macroscopic identification on South Sulawesi’s coastal resources

Abstract

The paper reports on an initial study aimed to isolate and identify plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in the roots of Ipomea pes-caprae (locally named as Katang-katang) abundantly found in the coastal area of South Sulawesi. Plant roots samples were obtained from the coastal area in Gantarangkeke Village, Bantaeng Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The isolation and identification were carried out at the Biofertilizer and Potential Microbial Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University from August to October 2019. The isolation was conducted by previously extracting the roots of the plant and then fermented for 14 days. One millilitre of the solution was used to inoculate the bacteria in a sterile petridish contained NA media using spread and streak methods and then left to an incubation period. Identification of the bacteria was conducted using three methods namely gram reaction test, catalase test, and microscopic colouring method. The bacteria samples were observed macroscopically and microscopically. The catalase test results reveal that bacteria in the Katang-katang roots was from the genus of Bacillus and Pseudomonas. Some of the implication of the results for agricultural purpose was discussed.