Unleaded agriculture: Myth to reality by wetland microbial flora

Abstract Wetlands, refer to the confluence with regards to land and water having a rich biological diversity with multiple purpose. As per the Ramsar Convention, framed in August 2002, East Kolkata Wetlands have been considered to be of global significance. Although inappropriate supervision of these wetlands, has led to the gradual deterioration of this wetland. In this present study, the soil sample was collected from these reclaimed agricultural wetlands of Chowbaga area, of East Kolkata areas with coordinates of 22.5296°N, 88.4207°E. The predominant or lingering bacterial flora was isolated from the soil surrounding the rhizospheric region of Cucurbita sp. and Zea mays and their plant growth promotion properties of the lingering bacterial flora were analyzed. These plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) included some species of Bacillus sp. that could augment plant growth by different methodologies like nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, phytohormone synthesis, and siderophore production. One of the bacterial isolates DPP(C) showed highest ability of siderophore production of 37.89% at 48 hours, whereas DCP(A) showed better capability in IAA production of 56.785 μg/mL than rest of the bacterial isolates. These reclaimed agricultural lands were found to have very high quantities of heavy metals, especially lead. All the bacterial isolates, were found to have great potential in lead mitigation, whereby they could adsorb up to 8.28% of lead. Some studies have shown the capability of microbial degradation for bioremediation of organic forms of lead and thereby can be removed from agricultural field for longer period of time. The prospective potential use of PGPR has gradually escalated, since it is one of the best substitutes against the constant usage of chemical fertilizers as well as pesticides. The use of these PGPR is one of the most reliable methods for ensuring sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, in future, the PGPR population will be correlated with the nutrient availability and productivity of the plants.