Abstract: The present study aims to evaluate the in-vitro and in-vivo (pot culture) plant growth promoting activities of four different endophytic Bacillus species i.e. B. pumilus, B. cereus, B. flexus RN 6, and B. flexus RN 11 isolated from tea (Camellia sinensis L.) shrubs collected from different tea gardens of Jorhat district of Assam, India. All four endophytic Bacillus species were found to be efficient plant growth promoter in both in-vitro and pot culture experiment. Among the four test isolates, B. cereus was most efficient with a maximum indole acetic acid (IAA) production (16.22± 0.17μg/ml), phosphate (174.3 ±2.2 μg/ml) and zinc (45.06 ± 1.22µg/ml) solubilization in-vitro. B. pumilus was identified as highest K solubilizer among the test isolates with a solubilization index of 200 ± 2.8%. A perfect positive correlation was noticed between increases of mineral solubilization and acidity of the culture supernatant. Soil inoculation of the test isolates in to pot culture experiment revealed a significant enhancement in plant growth to the bean seedlings.
Keywords: Endophytes, Bacillus sp. phosphate solubilization, zinc solubilization, IAA production.
Title: Evaluation of endophytic Bacillus spp. of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) for their plant growth promoting activities
Author: Ratul Nath, G. D. Sharma, Madhumita Barooah
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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