Effect of co-inoculation of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on the growth of amaranth plants

This study shows the effect of co-inoculation of three bacterial isolates, viz. Bacillus firmus KUCr1, Cellulosimicrobium cellulans KUCr3 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KUCd1, on selected growth parameters of amaranth plants. KUCr1 and KUCr3 are reported to be P-solubilizers and indole acetic acid (IAA) producers, and KUCd1 is a siderophore producer. Co-inoculation of the three isolates gave the best results for overall growth of amaranth plants followed by co-inoculation with KUCr1 and KUCd1, then KUCr1 alone. Among the test isolates, KUCr1 and KUCd1 were found to be better rhizosphere colonizers when co-inoculated. KUCr1 and KUCr3 when co-inoculated produced more IAA in liquid medium. Co-inoculation gave insignificant variation in P-solubilization, but siderophore production by KUCd1 was greatly enhanced when inoculated with other isolates in culture conditions. The augmentation of plant growth, when using a consortium culture, might be due to better IAA production and siderophore production by the test isolates. This report suggests that co-inoculation of microbes promotes plant growth better than individual isolates.