Phosphorus solubilizing stress tolerant rhizobacteria for growth promotion of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Phosphorus is needed by plants for their growth and development as well as different metabolic activities simultaneously being the major yield limiting plant nutrient. The application of the phosphatic fertilizers is the only alternative to prevent the phosphorus deficiency in the plants but the over use of the fertilizers depletes the soil fertility and pollutes the environment. In the present research, 190 bacteria were purified from the rhizosphere of wheat collected from the Keylong region. All the 190 isolates were screened for P-solubilization attribute. Ten selected P-solubilizing strains including EU-KLD-02, EU-KLD-12, EU-KLD-13, EU-KLD-17, EU-KLD-19, EU-KLD-20, EU-KLD-23, EU-KLD-55, EU-KLD-70 and EU-KLD-76 were then further characterized for other attributes of plant growth promotion and tolerance to different abiotic stress. The selected strains were quantified for phosphorus under normal and conditions of abiotic stress. The efficient strains were identified as Serratia marcescens EU-KLD-2, Pseudomonas azotoformans EU-KLD-13, Staphylococcus aureus EU-KLD-23 and Pseudomonas sp. EU-KLD-70. All the ten isolates with multiple PGP attributes were used as bioinoculants in green house experiment on wheat crop. The isolates efficiently improved the studied physiological and growth parameters of wheat. P-solubilizers as biofertilizers are potential candidates to reduce the utilization of chemical fertilizers as well as are a better alternative for environmental sustainability. The present investigation deals with the isolation of P-solubilizing bacteria from rhizospheric soil of wheat, screening for PGP attributes, abiotic stress tolerance and their role in plant growth promotion of wheat, © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society for Plant Research 2023.