Seed yield, some yield components and morphological traits of wheat as affected by azotobacter and pseudomonas bacteria inoculation

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Azotobacter chrocooccum strain 5, Pseudomonas fluorescens 187, and their interactions on wheat performance. The experimental design was split plot factorial with a complete randomized block design. The treatments included four chemical fertilizers (0, 50, 75 and 100% dose fertilizers) and four levels of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (Azotobacter chrocooccum strain 5, Pseudomonas fluorescens 187, mixture of these bacteria, and control). At time of physiological maturity, number of spikes per unit area, number of spikelet and grain number per spike, thousand grain weigh, grain yield, harvest index, biological yield, plant height, stem diameter and protein content were measured. Resulted indicated that the combined application of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas increased grain yield, harvest index, biological yield and protein content by 34.3, 7.7, 12.5 and 13.6%, respectively compared to the controls. Azotobacter and Pseudomonas inoculation plus fertilization reduced chemical fertilizers application (25-50 %) in the field. Results of this study suggest that farmer can obtained the same wheat yield if they apply half of conventional consumption of chemical fertilizers along with Azotobacter and Pseudomonas. * Corresponding Author: E. Ansari nia  aazad_1369@yahoo.com