Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LX
Written by Vladimir ROTARU
In recent years, the use of soil microorganisms has generated great interest in crop production, by reducing the damage from drought stress and improving nutrition, hence, providing alternative solutions for sustainable agriculture. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the impact of two rhizobacteria Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Pseudomonas putida on growth and grain productivity of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) under phosphorus insufficiency and moderate drought conditions. Soybean seeds were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Pseudomonas putida was administered in soil before the sowing. Soybean plants were grown in a soil: sand mixture with low phosphorus supply. Plants were treated with two regims of irrigation water, i.e., 70% of water holding soil capacity (WHC) and 35% of WHC as moderate drought. The water deficit was imposed at the flowering stage for 12 days. Plant growth traits and soybean yields were significantly altered by low P supply, water stress and PGPR treatments. P insufficiency and temporary drought had a sinergetic negative effect on soybean performance. The results of this experiment revealed significant positive effects of Rhizobium inoculation and Pseudomonas putida on growth, nodulation and yield of plants under both water regimes but drought reduced their beneficial impact. Experimental data demonstrated that integrated application of nitrogen-fixer bacteria and P. putida better improved the growth and plant productivity as compared to the application of B. japonicum alone. In conclusion, the combined utilization of B. japonicum and P. putida can mitigate deleterious effects of temporary drought stress in soybean under phosphorus and water deficiency conditions.
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