Журнал генетики и геномов

Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria in combination with organic supplements improve phosphorus and chlorophyll content and growth parameters of maize

Abstract

Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye*, Ifat Nazir, Muhammad Shakeel Nawaz, Hira Asghar, Muhammad Waqas and Fiza Mahmood

Sustainable crops production coupled with environmental safety measures has become a center of attention at current global canvas of science and research. Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are known to solubilize fixed phosphorus. Biochar is not only a nutrients rich organic amendment but also a very relevant input in relation to present climate change trend. Compost has been reported for a long time to improve soil physical properties in addition to having sufficient quantity of essential nutrients to sustain higher crops yield. Therefore, the application of two PSB strains, Achromobactor  xylosoxides (S1) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (S3), were tested in combination with and without a mixture of biochar and compost to improve  some selective growth parameters of maize. The data obtained depicted that the mixture of biochar and compost significantly improved maize growth parameters as compared PSB strains and the control. Combination of PSB, biochar and compost remained more effective than their separate application. The PSB strain, Achromobactor xylosoxides was observed to be better than the Pseudomonas aeruginosa with and without organic supplements. Conclusively, the efficiency of PSB strains increases when used in conjunction with organic supplements like biochar and compost with respect to phosphorus and chlorophyll content and maize growth indices