Abstract
AimsCurrent study was aimed to produce nitrogen fixing Azotobacter sp. (SR-4) and phosphorus solubilizers Aspergillus niger (A. niger) and to evaluate their efficiency as biofertilizers for agricultural practices. MethodsTwo biofertilizer including nitrogen fixing and phosphorus solubilizing were grown. The nitrogen fixing efficiency of Azotobacter (SR-4) was determined by Kjeldahl method. Similarly, Vanadomoybdate method was used to measure the soluble phosphorus while Heinonen method was used to analyze concentration of phytase and phosphatase in the cultures. Furthermore, both biofertilizers were tested in a field trail on Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd) and Abelmoschus esculentus (okra). ResultsThe Azotobacter (SR-4) strain was found efficient nitrogen fixer as 35.08 mg of nitrogen per gram of carbon was produced after 72 h of fermentation. Similarly, A. niger strain excrete extracellular phosphate solubilizing enzymes such as phytase (133UI in 48 h of fermentation) and phosphatase (170UI in 48 h of fermentation) which can solubilize the rock phosphate and make it available to plants. In field trials on selected plants (L. siceraria and A. esculentus), both biofertilizers showed significant increase in plant height, leaf length/width, fruit size and number of fruits per plant when compared with controls/untreated plants. Furthermore, plants co-inoculated with both the N fixing Azotobacter and phosphorus solubilizing A. niger have enhanced performance than those treated with each biofertilizer alone. ConclusionThe inoculation of seeds with A. niger and Azotobacter may replace costly and environment toxic chemical fertilizers with environment friendly and cost effective biofertilizers.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are well-known fundamental nutrients needed by plant for their growth and development
A specific group of fertilizers were discovered that are known as biofertilizers or bioinoculants and are consisted of microorganisms with plant growth-promoting abilities
Efficiency of Azotobacter as nitrogen fixer The nitrogen fixing efficiency of Azotobacter (SR-4) is equal to the mg of nitrogen produced per gram of carbon utilized
Summary
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are well-known fundamental nutrients needed by plant for their growth and development. To achieve high yield, farming practices require chemical fertilizers that are very costly and may create environmental problems. Owed to environmental alarm and fear for consumer health, the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture is presently under debate. A specific group of fertilizers were discovered that are known as biofertilizers or bioinoculants and are consisted of microorganisms with plant growth-promoting abilities. Some of these microbial strains are capable of phosphorus solubilizing, nitrogen fixing from air and some produce cellulytic enzymes. Biofertilizers are applied in several ways to soil, to enhance the nutrient availability to the plants. In either way the biofertilizers are used, they increase the numbers of beneficial microorganisms in the soil to enhance the nutrients availability for the plants
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