Rhizosphere of a halotolerant plant Suaeda fruticosa from saline desert of Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat (India) was explored for isolation of PGPR form the rare ecological niche having4.33% salinity. Total 85 isolates from the rhizosphere belonging to different species were isolated. Out of 85 isolates, 23 could solubilize phosphate and 11 isolates produced IAA. Seven isolates showed both the traits of phosphate solubilization and IAA production. All isolates which showed either of IAA production or phosphate solubilization or both were further screened for other PGP traits like production of ammonia, siderophore, chitinase, HCN and assessment of their antifungal activity. Out of all the screened isolates, Bacillus licheniformis strain A2 showed most prominent PGP traits in vitro and it was tested in vivo for growth promotion of Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) under saline soil condition. In presence of soil supplemented with 50 mM NaCl, B. licheniformis treated plants showed increase in fresh biomass, total length and root length by 28%, 24% and 17% and in absence of NaCl it was 43%, 31% and 39% respectively.
Keywords: Indole acetic acid (IAA); Phosphate solubilization; Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR); Soil salinity.
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