Combined Application of Bacteria and Chemical Fungicide for Pre-Sowing Treatment of Wheat

Survival, possibility and efficiency of using the bacterial strain of Pseudomonas extremorientalis PhS1 in the combined application in different doses with a chemical seed dresser have been studied for the first time in laboratory and field experiments. In has been established in laboratory experiments that seed dresser Oplot does not cause a decrease in the number of bacteria for 24 h. Phytoexamination of the seeds of spring wheat using the filter roll paper method showed a substantial decrease in the total infection of seeds in all variants in comparison with the control: the application of chemical preparation caused a decrease in germ length and an increase in the amount of roots; the treatment with both the fungicide and bacteria partially eliminated the retarded effect of the pesticide. In the field experiment, the efficiency of pre-sowing seed treatment with the bacteria, chemical dresser and their mixture was determined: the incidence of root rot on plants during the growing season decreased significantly compared to the control, and the fungicide contributed to an increase in the height and dry mass of plants from the middle of vegetation. Application of both bacteria and the dresser promoted the accumulation of nitrogen in the plants; the use of the fungicide alone caused a decrease in the amount of phosphorus. Analysis of crop structure revealed an increase in plant height and ear length, the number of spikelets and grains per ear, biological yield for either 100 or 50 % dose of the application of chemical preparation by 105 and 59 %, respectively. Seed bacterisation promoted improvement of crop structure but to a smaller extent than the complex treatment, and also caused an increase in crop yield by 14 %. Analysis of grain quality showed that all the methods of pre-sowing treatment of spring wheat seeds provided a statistically significant increase of protein, gluten content, and vitreousness.