Phosphate solubilizing microbes from tea garden soil exhibit cellulose degrading and caffeine utilizing potential with high plant growth promoting activity
Experimental study reveals that tea soil phosphate-solubilizing microbes degrade cellulose and improve crop biomass, indicating potential for sustainable biofertilizers.
Key Points
To evaluate five phosphate-solubilizing microbial isolates from tea garden soil for cellulose degradation, caffeine utilization, and plant growth promotion.
Assayed five microbial isolates (PSMR 6.2.9, PSMR 6.4.3, PSMR 2.1, PSMR 5.3, and PSMR 5.7) from Darjeeling tea garden soil for phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) synthesis, ammonia production, cellulose degradation, and caffeine utilization.
Conducted in vitro antibiosis assays to evaluate compatibility among isolates.
Performed pot trials comparing individual isolates versus microbial consortia (SET I, SET II, and SET III) on Vigna radiata and Cicer arietinum.
Isolates exhibited phosphate-solubilizing index of 2.45 ± 0.11, IAA production of 64.54 ± 0.21, ammonia production of 1.226 ± 0.05 µmol/mL, cellulose degradation activity of 3 ± 0.8, and caffeine utilization up to 3%.
Individual microbial treatments outperformed consortia in Vigna radiata, generating average increases of 87% in shoot length, 50% in root length, 72% in fresh weight, 197% in dry weight, and 76% in chlorophyll content.
In Cicer arietinum, individual isolate applications resulted in increases of 87% in shoot length, 165% in root length, 96% in fresh weight, 51% in dry weight, and 47% in chlorophyll content.