ISOLATION AND SCREENING OF ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH SWEET CORN (Zea Mays L. var. Saccharata sturt)
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Date
2019-03-26
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UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES, GKVK BENGALURU
Abstract
Endophytes are the microorganisms that live on the surface of plants without
causing harmful effects to the plants rather helping them in plant growth promotion by
producing phytohormones and in disease prevention by adopting various biocontrol
machanisms. Thus, endophytes play an important role and supplement different stages of
plant’s life. In the present study, bacterial endophytes were studied for diversity in
growth and biocontrol activities. Out of fifteen isolates, six isolates have nitrogen fixing
ability, seven isolates were positive for phosphorous solubilization, nine isolates
produced gibberellins, all isolates produced auxins and nine isolates produced cytokinins.
Six isolates have shown siderophore production. The promising isolates having
maximum functions of promoting plant growth and development like nitrogen fixation
(six isolates), phosphate solubilization (nine isolates), IAA production (all isolates),
gibberellin production (nine isolates), cytokinin production (nine isolates), and
siderophore production (six isolates) were carried on for further study. The bacterial
endophytes were further tested for bio control potential and eight isolates were found to
be antagonistic to some soil borne pathogens namely, Rizoctonia solani, Pythium
aphanidermatum and Sclerotium rolfsii suppressed diseases in sweet corn grown in
seedling trays under glass house conditions. Three promising isolates (SCRI4, SCLI2 and
SCSI3) were chosen for greenhouse study to know the effect of the endophytic bacteria
on the growth and yield of sweet corn. Treatments receiving 100 percent NPK and
consortia of bacterial endophytes significantly recorded better growth and yield
parameters compared to treatment receiving 75 percent NPK and consortia of bacterial
endophytes and treatment receiving only 100 percent NPK and both the treatments were
on par with each other.
February,