Assessing the potential of phosphate solubilizing bacteria isolated from rhizospheres of Sorghum bicolor grown in Surat, south Gujarat

Abstract

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) convert insoluble soil phosphates into soluble phosphorus and are potential suppliers of soluble phosphorus to plants. The current study was undertaken to isolate, and screen PSBs from the rhizosphere of Sorghum (s L.) grown in Surat, Gujarat. A total of 21 bacterial strains were isolated. The isolated strains were screened for their phosphate solubilization efficacy using Pikovskaya's agar and broth. Six isolates were found to be phosphate solubilizers. The isolate SB14 showed maximum effectiveness in phosphate solubilization. Morphological and biochemical characterization identified the isolate as Klebsiella sp. Plant growth-promoting traits of the isolated SB14 strain were assessed by a pot culture experiment conducted with groundnut seeds (Arachis hypogaea) using seeds treated with the bioinoculant of the isolated strain; uninoculated seeds were used as controls. Significant enhancement in seed germination of the inoculated seeds was observed. A marked growth in the aerial parts was also recorded.