Open Access

ARTICLE

Seed inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas syringae enhanced maize growth in a compacted saline-sodic soil

Zafar-ul-Hye M¹, A Nasir¹, M Aon¹, S Hussain¹, M Ahmad², I Naz¹

1 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan-60800, Pakistan. 2 University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur-63100, Pakistan.

Address correspondence to: Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye, e-mail:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2018, 87(all), 25-31. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2018.87.025

Abstract

Abiotic stresses like salt stress and soil compaction are responsible for increased ethylene production which may adversely affect crop growth. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of seed inoculation with ACC-deaminase containing rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas syringae) in the presence of recommended or half of a recommended rate of inorganic fertilizers at different growth stages of fodder maize in a compacted saline-sodic soil. At both fertilizer rates, seed inoculation with P. fluorescens and P. syringae significantly improved all growth parameters over the control treatment. After 30, 60 and 75 days of sowing, treatment with recommended NPK + P. fluorescens produced a statistically maximum increase in root length, shoot length, root fresh weight and shoot fresh weight in comparison to the control and recommended NPK only. As compared to recommended NPK only, seed inoculation with P. syringae + recommended NPK increased root dry weight by 4.1, 1.7 and 2.2 folds after 30, 60 and 75 days from sowing, respectively. Similarly, over the recommended NPK only, the recommended NPK + P. fluorescens increased shoot dry weight by 1.9, 1.5 and 1.9 folds after 30, 60 and 75 days from sowing, respectively. Conclusively, seed inoculation with P. fluorescens and P. syringae enhanced maize growth in a compacted saline-sodic soil.

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