Response of Prosopis chilensis to biofertilization under calcareous soil of RasSudr 1-Vegetative growth

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out during two successive seasons, 2006 and 2007 on Prosopis chilensis at six month old transplants. Experiment was conducted in RasSudr Research Station, Desert Research Center, at South Sinai Governorate, Egypt. Aiming to study the effect of adding biofertilizers Bradyrhizobium spp., Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium and vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) as well as their interaction, viz. control (without microbial inoculation) on soil microbials counts, plant growth parameters, total chlorophyll and some chemical contents of leaves and branches. Results revealed that different biofertilizer treatments increased the microbial counts (total microbial counts, azotobacter, azospirilla, phosphate dissolving bacteria (PDB) and VAM), the growth parameters (plant height, stem diameter, initiative branching point, number of branches, fresh weight and dry weight) and some chemical constituents such as total chlorophyll, crude protein, crude fiber and ash% compared to untreated plants. Concerning to inoculate plants with biofertilizers interaction treatments, a mixture of bradyrhizobium, azotobacter, PDB and VAM was the most effective in raising the productivity of prosopis plants followed by triple inoculated treatments, then double inoculation treatments and finally single inoculation treatments compared to control treatment.