TY - JOUR
T1 - Boosting Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Production With Rhizobacteria From Various Plants in Saudi Arabia
AU - Daur, Ihsanullah
AU - Saad, Maged
AU - Eida, Abdul Aziz
AU - Ahmad, Shakeel
AU - Shah, Zahid Hussain
AU - Ihsan, Muhammad Z.
AU - Muhammad, Yasir
AU - Sohrab, Sayed S.
AU - Hirt, Heribert
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-11-30
Acknowledgements: The work was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), King Abdulaziz University (KAU), and by KAUST baseline research projects of HH. The authors would thank all members of the Hirt Lab, CDA management team and the greenhouse core lab facility in KAUST and Agricultural Research Station of King Abdulaziz University situated at Hada Al Sham for the technical assistance and for their help, support in many aspects of this work.
PY - 2018/4/4
Y1 - 2018/4/4
N2 - This study focused on rhizobacteria to promote sustainable crop production in arid regions of Saudi Arabia. The study isolated 17 tightly root-adhering rhizobacteria from various plants at Hada Al Sham in Saudi Arabia. All 17 rhizobacterial isolates were confirmed as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria by classical biochemical tests. Using 16S rDNA gene sequence analyses, the strains were identified as Bacillus, Acinetobacter and Enterobacter. Subsequently, the strains were assessed for their ability to improve the physiology, nutrient uptake, growth, and yield of alfalfa plants grown under desert agriculture conditions. The field trials were conducted in a randomized complete block design. Inoculation of alfalfa with any of these 17 strains improved the relative water content; chlorophyll a; chlorophyll b; carotenoid contents; nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium contents; plant height; leaf-to-stem ratio; and fresh and dry weight. Acinetobacter pittii JD-14 was most effective to increase fresh and dry weight of alfalfa by 41 and 34%, respectively, when compared to non-inoculated control plants. Nevertheless, all strains enhanced crop traits when compared to controls plants, indicating that these desert rhizobacterial strains could be used to develop an eco-friendly biofertilizer for alfalfa and possibly other crop plants to enhance sustainable production in arid regions.
AB - This study focused on rhizobacteria to promote sustainable crop production in arid regions of Saudi Arabia. The study isolated 17 tightly root-adhering rhizobacteria from various plants at Hada Al Sham in Saudi Arabia. All 17 rhizobacterial isolates were confirmed as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria by classical biochemical tests. Using 16S rDNA gene sequence analyses, the strains were identified as Bacillus, Acinetobacter and Enterobacter. Subsequently, the strains were assessed for their ability to improve the physiology, nutrient uptake, growth, and yield of alfalfa plants grown under desert agriculture conditions. The field trials were conducted in a randomized complete block design. Inoculation of alfalfa with any of these 17 strains improved the relative water content; chlorophyll a; chlorophyll b; carotenoid contents; nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium contents; plant height; leaf-to-stem ratio; and fresh and dry weight. Acinetobacter pittii JD-14 was most effective to increase fresh and dry weight of alfalfa by 41 and 34%, respectively, when compared to non-inoculated control plants. Nevertheless, all strains enhanced crop traits when compared to controls plants, indicating that these desert rhizobacterial strains could be used to develop an eco-friendly biofertilizer for alfalfa and possibly other crop plants to enhance sustainable production in arid regions.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/627493
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00477/full
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045042569&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00477
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00477
M3 - Article
C2 - 29670582
AN - SCOPUS:85045036858
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
SN - 1664-302X
IS - APR
ER -
