Does Seed Inoculation with PGPRs Affect Germination and Final Biomass of Flax Under Drought Stress Conditions? Volume 2 - Issue 4

Sanaz Rajabi Khamseh* and Abdolrazagh Danesh Shahraki

• Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran

Received:September 27, 2021;   Published:November 16, 2021

*Corresponding author: Sanaz Rajabi Khamseh, Shahrekord University, Iran

DOI: 10.32474/CTBM.2021.02.000142

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Abstract

Seed germination as a primary aspect of growth is sensitive to water deficit. The current experiments were carried out to test the effects of drought stress and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) inoculation on seed germination, seedling growth, and biomass production of flax. Initially, the efficacy of PGPR (control, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus sp. strain1, Bacillus sp. Strain2, Azotobacter chroococcum, Pseudomonas putida, and Azospirillum lipoferum) and drought stress (0, -0.75, -1.5, -2 and -2.5 bar of PEG-6000) were estimated on flax germination under laboratory conditions. Then, bacterial treatments for the pot experiment were selected based on the laboratory experiment results (individually and in combination). Drought stress levels in the pot experiment were included 50%, 75%, and 100% crop water requirement. Results showed that the seeds inoculated with PGPRs under drought conditions positively affected seed germination and seedling growth under laboratory conditions. On the other hand, in the pot, emergence properties, dry biomass production, and root-related traits of bacterial inoculated plants were also improved compared with controls. B. amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus sp. strain1, and A. chroococcum in laboratory and coapplication of mentioned rhizobacteria in the pot recorded pronounced impact on most of the traits. Moreover, bacterial inoculation is proved to be an effective technique to increase the performance, growth and final biomass production of plants under unfavorable conditions like drought stress.

Keywords: Azotobacter; Bacillus; Drought; Germination; Oilseed

Abstract| Introduction| Materials and Methods| Pot Experiment| Statistical Analysis| Results| Discussion| Conclusion| References|