Effect of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on Growth and Nutrient Content of Rice

Aims: The application of a huge number of chemical fertilizers for crop production alters the sustainability of the environment and creates pollution. This problem can be minimized by the application of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB). Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) are beneficial bacteria that promote plant growth and development through a variety of mechanisms. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted at the department of Soil Science, BSMRAU to investigate the effect of different PGPB isolates on growth, nutrient content, and uptake by rice. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out following a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replicates. Twenty bacterial isolates were used as treatments with a control treatment. Thirty-five days old seedlings of rice were inoculated with different bacterial isolates for thirty minutes and planted in a plastic pot. Broth culture was applied at one-month intervals and crops were harvested 65 days after planting. Results: Experimental results disclose that application of PGPB isolates resulted in a significant increase in plant height, SPAD value, root length, root volume, straw fresh weight, straw dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight, nutrient content and uptake by the rice plant compare to control. The highest values of most of the parameters were recorded from the plant inoculated with the isolate BU Ls 28. Conclusion: The present study suggests that the use of PGPB isolate BU Ls 28 might be used as a suitable inoculant for rice production due to the ability of this isolate to promote plant growth.