EFFECT OF AZOSPIRILLUM INOCULATION ON MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) UNDER DROUGHT STRESS

Azospirillum strains isolated from water stressed conditions can mitigate drought effects when used as inoculants. In this context, the research was designed to study the effects of Azospirillum lipoferum strain (Accession no. GQ255950) inoculation on biochemical attributes and growth of maize plant under drought stress. Effect of seed inoculation and rhizosphere inoculation were studied in two varieties of maize, which were subjected to drought stress at vegetative stage. Water deficiency affected accumulation of free amino acids, soluble sugars, proline and soluble protein contents. However, seed inoculated plants had an increased accumulation of 54.54 percent and 63.15 percent free amino acids and soluble sugars respectively, while rhizosphere inoculated plants showed 45.45 percent increase in free amino acids and 31.57 percent increase in soluble sugars as compared to control. The concentrations of soluble proteins on the contrary decreased in the similar order. The plants growth aspect i.e. shoot and root fresh weight, shoot and root dry weight, shoot length and root length, also showed results in consistence with the biochemical attributes. Thus Azospirillum strain showed promising effects and can be a potent inoculant for maize that can help the crop to endure limited water availability.