Plant Growth Promoting Properties of Rhizobacteria Isolated from Wheat and Pea Grown in Loamy Sand Soil

Microbes are important catalysts to regulate functional properties of terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, rhizosphere and phyllosphere bacteria were isolated from wheat and peas and examined for their plant growth promoting properties. The effects of bacterial inoculants on the growth of peas and wheat were studied in a series of pot experiments using loamy sand soil. The results showed that the colonisation of bacteria was higher in the rhizosphere as compared to the phyllosphere of both plants. Bacterial strains were identified as Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Kocuria, and Microbacterium, and Cellulomonas species. The response of wheat and peas when inoculated with bacteria was significantly positive over the control. After inoculation with effective bacterial strains, the root and shoot growth, and nodulation of peas were increased. However, the strains stimulated only the roots of wheat. Independent of the origin (rhizosphere vs. phyllosphere), bacterial strains produced indole-3 acetic acid (IAA), which most probably accounted for the overall synergistic effect on growth of peas and wheat.