Crop specific plant growth promoting effects of ACCd enzyme and siderophore producing fluorescent Pseudomonas on okra and pumpkin

Abstract

The use of microbial technologies in agriculture is currently expanding quite rapidly with the identification of new bacterial strains, which are more effective in promoting plant growth. The plant rhizosphere is an important soil ecological environment for plant microbe interactions. It involves colonization by a variety of micro-organisms in and around the roots which may result in symbiotic, associative, neutralistic or parasitic relations within the plant, depending on the type of microorganism, soil nutrient status, and plant defense system and soil environment. A substantial number of bacterial species, mostly those associated with rhizosphere, may exert a beneficial effect on plant growth and development. This group of bacteria has been termed “plant growth promoting rhizobacteria” or PGPR. In the present study 55 strains of Pseudomonas were isolated from soil sample collected from different geographical locations of Chhattisgarh. Among 55 isolated Pseudomonas strains 20 isolates exhibited biocontrol activities against soil borne phytopathogenic fungi were selected on the basis of their antifungal activity to explore its potential as plant growth promotion. Isolates showed multiple plant growth promoting attributes such as phosphate solubilization activity, indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore, and HCN production.