Evaluating the effect of Sphingobium yanoikuyae MH394206 and mixed consortia on growth of rice CO 51 in moisture deficit condition

Abstract

A pot culture study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Sphingobium yanoikuyae MH394206 and mixed consortia on the growth of rice CO-51 in flooded and 75% moisture deficit condition. Along with S. yanoikuyae MH394206, other plant growth promoting bacteria like Azospillium brasilense, multi mineral solubilizing bacterial strain 1 and 2 were used as mixed consortia. Impact of these microorganisms on plant growth was estimated by changes in growth and physiological characteristics of rice grown in flooded and 75% moisture deficit condition. Seed treatment of these bacterial cultures enhanced the growth parameters like plant height, root volume, panicle and tiller quantity and finally increased the fresh weight of the seeds significanlty over uninoculated control. The bacterial inoculation also increased the concentration of osmolytes under stressed condition indicating stress tolerance inducing capacity of the bacterial inoculants in the plant system.