Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
A pot experiment was undertaken under net house conditions, with three rhizobacterial strains AW1 (Bacillus sp.), AW5 (Providencia sp.) and AW7 (Brevundimonas sp.), applied along with 2/3 recommended dose of nitrogen (N) and full dose of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers (N90P60K60). An enhancement of 14–34% in plant biometric parameters and 28–60% in micronutrient content was recorded in treatments receiving the combination of AW1 + AW5 strains, as compared to full dose of fertilizer application. The treatment involving inoculation with AW5 + AW7 recorded highest values of % P and N, with a two-fold enhancement in phosphorus and 66.7% increase in N content, over full dose application of P and K fertilizers. A significant correlation was recorded between plant biomass, panicle weight, grain weight, N, P and iron (Fe) with acetylene reduction activity, indicating the significance of N fixation in overall crop productivity. Our study illustrates the multiple benefits of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculation in integrated nutrient management and biofortification strategies for wheat crop.
Rana et al. (Wed,) studied this question.