Abstract
Salinity is a significant abiotic stress for crop plants and a threat to global food security. Optimizing yield without adversely affecting the ecosystem is necessary for a sustainable agriculture. Silicon and plant growth-promoting bacteria were reported for mitigating several abiotic and biotic stress in plants. In our study, we identified the salt-tolerant rhizobacterium Pseudomonas psychrotolerans CS51. This species produces several plant-growth-promoting biochemicals like indole-3-acetic acid (33 ± 1.8 ng/mL) and gibberellic acid (GA3; 38 ± 1.3 and GA4; 23 ± 1.2 ng/mL) in Luria-Bertani(LB) media, and LB media spiked with 200 mM NaCl (indole-3-acetic acid(IAA); 17.6 ± 0.4 ng/mL, GA3; 21 ± 0.9 and GA4; 19 ± 1.0 ng/mL). In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of isolate CS51 and exogenous silicon (3 mM) on maize under salinity stress (200 mM). Our results showed that the sole application of isolate CS51, Si, and combined CS51 + Si significantly enhanced maize biomass and chlorophyll content under normal and salinity stress. Phytohormonal results showed that salinity stress increased abscisic acid (ABA; three folds) and jasmonic acid (JA; 49.20%). However, the sole and combined isolate CS51 + Si application markedly reduced ABA (1.5 folds) and JA content (14.89%). Besides, the sole and isolate CS51 + Si co-application strengthened the antioxidant system, such as flavonoid (97%) and polyphenol (19.64%), and lowered the proline content (57.69%) under NaCl stress. Similarly, the CS51 and Si inoculation (solely or combined) significantly enhanced the Si uptake (4 folds) and reduced the Na+ uptake (42.30%) in maize plants under NaCl stress. In conclusion, the current finding suggests that combining CS51 with Si can be used against salinity stress in maize plants and may be commercialized as a biofertilizer.
Highlights
Salt toxicity in crops due to soil salinization is considered a major global agricultural problem [1,2]
Different plant growth-promoting rhizospheric bacterial stocks were collected from the Crop Physiology Lab, grown on LB agar plate, and screened for different PGP traits and salt tolerance
Different plant growth-promoting rhizospheric bacterial stocks were collected from the Crop Physiology Lab, grown on LB agar plate, and screened for different PGP t5raofit1s5 and salt tolerance
Summary
Salt toxicity in crops due to soil salinization is considered a major global agricultural problem [1,2]. Soil salinity inhibits crop productivity by weakening the root growth, decreasing nutrient uptake, and affecting the metabolic process [8,9,10]. Salinity stress is involved in various morphological, physiological, and metabolic processes that decrease crop productivity and yield quality [10,11,12]. High salinity stress accumulates Na+ and Cl- between tissues, causing significant intercellular and intracellular ion distribution [15]. Together, all these factors affect plant growth and development, decreasing plants’ survival rates and crop productivity and quality [16]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
